DEPOSITED 

September  i8,  1871. 


I 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2014 


https://archive.org/details/exercisesofpiety01zoll 


EXERCISES  OF  PIETY: 

OR, 

MEDITATIONS 

ON  THE 

PRINCIPAL  DOCTRINES  ^  DUTIES 

OF 

EELIGION. 

FOR  THE   USE  OF 

ENLIGHTENED  &  VIRTUOUS  CHRISTIANS, 


BY  G.  J.  ZOLLIKOFER, 

LATE  PASTOR  OF  THE  REFORMED  CHURCH  AT  LEIPjICK,  IN  G2RMANT. 


ABRIDGED,  CORRECTED  AND  RECOMMENDED, 

BY  THADDEU3  M.  HARRIS, 

PASTOR  OF  THE  CHURCH  AT  DORCHESTER,  M  A  S  S  A  C  H  U  S  ET  t  S« 

SECOXD  EBITIOM 


PRINTED  AT  V/ORC ESTER,  BY  THOMAS  STURTEVANT, 

For  ISJIAI^l  THOMJS,  Jun. 

Sold  by  him  in  Worcester  ;  by  Th-mas  8t  Whipple,  Newbuiyport,  and  by 
Thomas  &  Tappan,  P  rtsmouth. 
........... 


District  of  Massachusetts  District^  to  ^vit : 

(3  u 

i3E  IT  HEMEMBERED,  That  OH  the  Twen- 

tyseventh  Day  of  January,  in  the  Twentyseventh  Year  cf  the  In- 
dependence ot  the  Unitid  States  of  America,  Isaiah  Thomas, 
Junior,  of  the  said  District,  hath  deposited  in  this  Ofhce  the  Title  of 
a  Book,  the  Right  whereof  he  claims  as  Proprietor,  in  the  words  fol- 
lowing, to  wit:  "  Exercises  of  Piety  :  Or,  Meditations  on  the  Prin- 
cipal Doctrines  and  Duties  of  Religion.  For  the  Use  of  Enlightened 
and  Virtuous  Christians.  By  G.  J.  Zollikofer,  late  Pastor  of  the 
Reformed  Church  at  Leipsick.  in  Germany.  Translated  from  the 
French  Edition  by  James  M^^nning,  Pastor  of  the  United  Congre- 
gation of  Dissenters,  in  Exeter,  Greatbritain.  Abridged,  corrected  * 
and  recommended  bv  Thaddeus  M.  Harris  Pastor  of  the  Church 
as  Dorchester,  Massachusetts,  Norih  America." 

In  Conformity  to  the  Act  of  the  Con<^re?s,  of  the  Unit- 
ed States,  intituled,  '*  An  Act  for  the  Encouragement  of  Learning,  by 
fecuring  the  Copies  of  Maps,  Charts  and  Books,  to  the  Authors  and 
Proprietors  of  fuch  Copies,  during  the  times  therein  mentioned." 

N.  GOODALE, 
Clerk  of  the  District  oj  Massachusetts  District, 
A  true  Copy  of  Record — 
Attfit,  N.  GooDALE,  Clerk. 


ADVERTISEMENT 


^  B  V    T  H  E 

TRANSLATOR. 


THE  fcHo%vmg  Exercises  of  Piety  are 
the  production  of  Mr.  G.  J.  Zollikofer  the 
"worthy  pastor  of  the  reformed  church  at  Leip- 
sick.  They  made  their  first  appearance  in  the 
German  Language^  but  ivere  lately  published  in 
French,  at  Frankfort.  The  French  edition^  from 
\\)hich  these  Exercises  ivere  translated^  is  printed 
in  two  volumes ^  of  which  the  devotional  services 
now  published^  make  but  an  inconsiderable  part, 
and  are  chiefly  taken  from  the  second  vohnne. 

The  enlightened  and  virtuous  Christiafi,  for 
whose  use  they  are  principally  intended^  will  here 
find  something  exactly  suited  to  his  external 
circu?nstances,  and  the  devotional  feelings  of 
his  mind. 

The  less  perfect  Christian^  who  has  not  yd 
viade  such  progress  in  the  school  of  Pi  et  y  as  the 
former^  may  also  reap  considerable  benefit  from 
such,  a  book  of  devotion.  It  will  tend  to  improve 
him  in  knowledge  and  practice,  and  be  a  useful 
book  of  instruction  as  voell  as  of  devotion.  He 
may  here  be  led  to  form  just  notions  and  holy  de- 
sires^ such  as  cannot  but  have  considerable  in- 
fiuence  on  his  prayers  and  on  his  conduct. 

The  idea  of  translating  them  voas  suggested 
by  reading  Dr.  Fordyc^i's  Addresses  to  the 


ADVERTISEMENT. 


Deity,  to  vihich  they  appeared  to  he  a  proper 
companion^  as  they  are  compositicns  of  the  same 
kind^  a  species  of  pious  conteniphition^  ivhere 
the  sou/y  inspired  by  a  lively  sense  cf  the  Divine 
Presence,  expresses^  vjith  humility  and  ardor, 
her  very  inmost  thoughts^  affections  and  desires^ 
on  different  subjects.^' 


PREFACE 


TO  THE 

FIRST  AMERICAN  EDITION. 


This  work  of  one  of  the  most  eminent  Di- 
vines  and  popular  Preachers  in  Germany,  has 
been  justly  celebrated  and  admired.  The  German 
Journals  of  Literature  give  a  high  character  of  the 
original ;  and  the  English  Reviews  tiotice  the  trans* 
lation  (here  reprinted)  in  terms  of  warm  commenda^ 
tion.  Indeed  all  the  friends  of  religion  will  peruse 
these  pathetic  pages  with  real  satisfaction  and  advan- 
tage^ animated  with  the  elevated  devotion  xuhick 
breathes  through  them  ;  and  will  unitein  recommend- 
ing them  to  all,  as  eminently  calculated  to  enliven  the 
spirit  and  promote  the  habits  oj  pure  and  rational 
Piety. 

It  is  the  peculiar  merit  of  these  Excercises," 
that  they  are  accommodated  to  most  of  the  duties,  the 
conditions  and  relations  of  life-  They  may  serve, 
too,  to  attract  Children  to  their  primary  ohliga- 
iions  ;  tQ  assist  Parents  in  their  tender  cares  ;  to  lead 
the  Aged  to  the  most  happy  recollections  ;  to  in- 
struct the  Poor  in  the  virtues  befitting  their  lowly 
state  ;  to  induce  the  Rich  to  acquire  more  of  those 
qualities  luhich  will  enhance  their  enjoyments  ;  to 
S40th  the  Sick,  and  to  comfort  the  Bereaved. 


PREFACE. 

If  promotive  <?/ either  of  these  good  purposes,  es- 
pecially if  beneficial  in  all  of  them.,  how  ought  this* 
book  to  be  prized!  and  how  eagerly  should  every 
family  he  to  possess,  and  every  individual  to  peruse 
it  I 

Under  this  persuasion,  the  writer  of  this  Introduc- 
tion flatters  himself  that  in  ynore  widely  circulating 
the  inestimable  work,  by  giving  a  cheap  American 
Edition,  he  is  doing  service  to  the  cause  of  practi- 
cal godliness,  and  opening  to  his  jriends  a  new  and 
copious  source  of  religious  improvement  ;  and  thus 
to  do  is  his  dearest  wish,  and  will  ever  he  his  most 
zealous  endeavor. 

Note, — In  this  American  Edition  several 
sentences,  which  appeared  mere  repetitions,  have  been 
omitted  ;  and  the  structure  of  others  altered,  to  ac- 
commodate them  more  to  the  idiom  of  our  language  : 
And  two  Exercises  on  the  Lord's  Day,  transla- 
ted  from  the  same  Author^  are  added* 

THADDEUS  M.  HARRIS. 

'Doxchtiitx,  January  1803, 


CONTENTS. 

lOGRAPHICAL  Notices  of  the  Author   9 

Introduction   13 

Reflections  on  the  Existence  of  God   j8 

On  Providence   27 

On  Faith  in  Jesus  Christ   41  , 

The  Immortality  of  the  Soul   49 

Love  to  God  ■  ,   62 

Love  to  Jesus  Christ   68 

Love  to  Mankind   74 

Love  of  Labor   84 

The  safest  Rule  "n  the  Conduct  of  Life   90 

Exercises  of  Pi-'ty  suited  to  the  different  Relations  of  Society  92 

Married  Persons  ,   93 

Parents   101 

For  a  Child  ,   112 

Youth   119 

Manhood  ^  129 

Old  As»   135 

On  Duty  to  Rulers  and  Superiors  .  .  .  143 

Rich  Man   1^9 

Poor  Man   1  c-^ 

A  Per^n  confined  by  Sickness  ,  166 

Death  of  Friends  .'   17^ 

0n  the  Lord's  day  Morning  ^  .  185 

Oa  the  Lord's  day  Evening   189 


BIOGRAPHICAL  NOTICES  or  the  AUTHOR. 


When  we  take  up  a  book  we  naturally  wish  te 
know  something  of  the  author,  who  he  was,  where  he  liv- 
ed, and  why  he  wrote.  We  would  ascertain  his  preten- 
sions to  our  notice,  and  whether  we  may  expect  any  partic'- 
ular  benefit,  new  information,  or  increased  satisfaction : 
from  his  writings. 

Or  if  the  perusal  of  a  volume,  by  an  author  unknown  to 
us,  has  served  to  instruct  and  improve  us,  to  make  us  wiser 
and  better,  to  elevate  our  piety  and  increase  our  happiness, 
we  feel  a  real  obligation,  a  sen^e  of  becoming  gratitude, 
and  are  particularly  desirous  of  knowing  to  whom  we  are 
indebted  ;  we  have  even  contracted  an  affection,  a  friend- 
ship, for  our  judicious  instructor — and  friends  should  be 
well  acquainted. 

To  gratify  this  laudable  curiosity  in  those  who  have  the 
inclination  to  purchase  and  the  good  sense  to  peruse  this 
valuable  work,  pains  have  been  taken  to  collect  some  ac- 
count of  the  worthy  author. 

George  Joachim  Zollikofer  was  born  at  St.  Gall, 
in  Switzerland,  on  the  5th  of  August,  1730.  His  father, 
David  Anthon  y  Zollikofer,  is  still  remembered  there 
as  an  eminent  practitioner  in  the  law,  and  as  a  pious  and 
upright  man.  That  he  omitted  nothing  in  the  literary  ed- 
ucat-'on  of  his  son  may  well  be  imagined  ;  it  is  still  more 
Kianifest  that  by  his  own  virtuous  example  he  became  his 
moral  tutor,  a  tutor  to  whom  posterity  is  under  such  infi- 
nite obligations  through  his  pupil. 

Young  Zollikofer,  when  arrived  at  the  proper  age, 
was  put  to  the  gymnasium  of  his  native  town ;  from  whence, 
ije  ng  intended  for  the  church,  he  was  sent  to  prosecute  his. 


JO-  BIOGRAPHICAL  NOTICES. 

Studies,  first  at  Bremen,  and  afterwards  at  the  university  of 
Utrecht,  where  the  divinity  professors  are  said  to  have 
been  then  in  high  repute. 

Possessing  native  genius,  a  clear  intellect,  and  an  ele- 
vated fancy,  with  a  close  attachment  to  learning  and  an  ar- 
dent ambition  to  excel,  as  might  be  expected  he  made  great 
improvements  and  became  an  accomplished  scholar.  He 
was  well  vened  in  History,  Biography,  Poetry,  and  all  the 
branches  of  Polite  Literature  :  He  w^as  fond  of  these  pur- 
suits, for  tliey  enlarged  his  mind,  corrected  his  taste,  and 
refined  his  native  sensibilities.  In  Natural  History  and 
Natural  Philosophy,  also,  he  is  said  to  have  possessed  un- 
common knowledge.  But  Ethics  and  Divinity  were  his 
favorite  studies,  for  they  belonged  to  the  profession  to 
which  he  had  devoted  all  his  regards,  all  his  exertions,  and 
all  his  talents.  In  this  profession  he  was  unrivalled.  His 
compositions,  always  judicious,  correct  and  pathetic?  were 
delivered  with  all  the  advantages,  of  a  fine  voice,  a  graceful 
figure,  and  an  irresistible  eloquence. 

His  first  establishment  as  a  Preacher,  w  hich  was  soon  af- 
ter he  had  completed  his  academical  course,  was  in  his  own 
country  at  Murten,  in  the  Paysde  Vaud.  Here,  however, 
he  remained  only  a  short  time,  having  a  call  toa  more  con- 
siderable place  at  Monstein,  in  the  Grisons.  This  congre- 
gation, likewise,  had  not  the  happiness  to  possess  him  for 
a  much  longer  period,  he  being  invited  to  Isenburg  as  a 
preacher  iJ;ere.  Yet  neither  was  this  station  the  theatre 
which  Providence  had  determined  for  liis  most  extensive 
and  permanent  usefulness.  In  the  year  175S,  at  the  age  of 
eight  and  twenty,  he  was  appointed  to  the  office  of  one  of 
the  German  preachers  at  the  reformed  church  at  Leipsick, 
This  was  a  conspicuous  station,  and  Mr.  Zollikofer  filled 
it  with  eminent  advantage.  That  he  was  universally  ad- 
mired and  celebrated,  is  his  least  praise  ;  his  ministerial  ia- 


BIOGRAPHICAL  NOTICES.  ii 

"bors,  his  instructions,  and  his  example,  diifiised  far  around 
tiie  knowledge  and  the  beauties  of  holiness  while  his  most 
excellent  publications  will  spread,  through  every  country 
and  age,  fresh  excitements  and  encouragements  to  virtue 
and  piety. 

Several  volumes  of  his  i  comparab'e  discourses  have 
been  for  some  years  in  the  hands  of  the  public,  and  are  ;n 
high  and  deserved  repute.*  Net  only  have  they  passed 
through  many  editions  in  their  original  language,  but  they 
have  been  translated  i.ito  Frenrh,  Italian,  and  English,  and 
are  continually  reprinting.  1  he  celebrated  Dr.  Blair  is 
said  to  have  made  them  more  than  his  model ;  this  may 
perhaps  be  an  invidio  'S  s^tggestion,  but  it  is  a  high  testi- 
mony to  their  excel  ence. 

Honored  by  the  wise,  beloved  by  the  good,  respected 
and  venerarea  by  all  classes  \ — delighted  in  by  the  young 
as  a  candid,  kind,  and  faithful  adviser  ;  resorted  to  by  the 
poor  as  a  bountiful  helper  and  patron  ;  sent  for  by  the  sick 
and  afflicted  as  their  best  earthly  comforter  ;  wholly  occu- 
pied with  religious  duties  and  with  humane  and  pious  ex- 
ercises, he  spent  an  useful  and  honorable  life,  and  left  be- 
hind him  a  reputation  unblemished  and  a  fame  immortal. 

He  was  twice  married.  His  first  wife,  na^ied  Le  Roy, 
was  a  lady  of  great  understanding  and  considerable  attain- 
ments. He  was  extremely  fond  of  her,  and  his  congrega- 
tion witnessed  the  manly  tears  he  shed  upon  her  grave. 
His  second,  of  the  family  of  Sechekay,  at  Leipsick,  was 
an  uncommon  blessing  to  him  during  "-mc  last  seven  years  of 
his  life,  and  probably  the  world  is  indebted  to  her  endear- 
ing attentions  that  his  life  and  labors  v»-ere  so  far  prolong- 
ed.   Both  marriages  "were  childless  ;  Providence,  doubt- 

*  H's  two  volumes  of  Sermons  on  the  "  Dignity  of  Man ^  and  the 
ehjects  relating  to  Humart  Happiness^'"  h-a-je  just  been  published  by  I. 
Thomas,  jun.  jn  Worcester. 


12  BIOGRAPHICAL  NOTICES. 

less  for  some  wise  purposes  unknown  to  us,  not  dispensing 
to  the  n?.an  who  had  thought  and  read  so  much  on  the  nur- 
ture and  education  of  youth,  and  author  of  several  pieces 
on  the  subject,  the  happiness  of  applying  his  wise  and  ex- 
cellent lessons  to  practice. 

For  the  space  of  a  year  before  his  death,  feeling  his  fac- 
ulties considerably  on  the  decline,  and  thinking  himself  no 
longer  able  to  fulfil  the  duties  of  his  office  to  his  own  satis- 
faction, he  formed  the  resolution  to  lay  it  down,  and  retire 
to  the  place  of  his  nativity  in  Switzerland  :  But  at  the  unit- 
ed request  ot  his  congregation,  who  assured  him  that  they 
would  willingly  content  themselves  with  a  discourse  from 
him  every  fortnight,  he  was  induced  to  remain  in  his  sta. 
tion.  His  health  even  seemed  to  improve  during  the  sum- 
mer in  consequenceof  his  having  passed  the  intervals  of  his 
time  at  the  village  of  Gchlitz,  not  fir  from  town.  But  in 
the  following  autumn  it  too  plainly  appeared  that  his  re- 
covery was  only  apparent.  He  still,  however,  attended  on 
the  duties  of  his  office,  though  with  the  utmost  d  fficulty  { 
till,  at  length,  a  few  weeks  before  his  death,  he  was  oblig- 
ed to  apply  for  assistance  to  a  candidate  for  orders,  who 
kindly  took  upon  him  the  charge  of  preaching.  His  last 
illness  was  extremely  painful,  yet  he  bore  his  sufferings 
with  the  patience  of  a  wise  man,  and  the  resignation  of  a 
Christian  who  looks  beyond  the  grave  and  corruption  to  a 
world  of  retribution.  On  the  jid  of  January,  17S8,  he 
gently  sunk  into  the  arms  of  death,  and  was  interred  on 
the  23th.  The  whole  of  his  numerous  congregation,  to- 
gether with  some  hundreds  of  students  at  the-  Univer'ity, 
and  numbers  of  his  auditors  of  the  Lutheran  communion, 
attended  his  body  to  the  grave  with  every  token  of  un- 
feigned sorrow. 


EXERCISES 


OF 


I  E  T 


INTRODUCTION. 


ReFLLCTION  is  the  mother  of 
Wisdom,  the  faithful  companion  of  Vir- 
tue, and  the  principal  source  of  human 
felicity.  The  wisest  and  most  virtuous  of 
men  have  always  considered  it  in  this  view, 
and  to  this  day  no  one  calls  in  question 
the  truth  of  the  encomium. 

But,  notwithstanding  the  acknowledged 
advantages  of  reflection,  many  persons 
scarcely  ever  reflect  at  all  j  and  the  greater 
part  of  mankind  regard  this  employment 
as  difficult  and  burdensome.  We  think 
continually,  and  without  intermission. 
Thought  is  as  necessary  to  the  life  of  the 

B 


14  Introduction, 

soul  as  motion  is  to  that  of  the  body. 
They  are  both  equally  involuntary.  It  is 
as  impossible  entirely  to  banish  thought, 
as  to  stop  the  circulation  of  the  blood. 
The  objects  which  surround  us,  and  the 
changes  which  take  place  within  us,  are 
continually  making  impressions  upon  us, 
which  the  mind  presents  to  itself  with 
more  or  less  distinctness,  a\id  which  it  ap- 
proves or  disapproves.  And  this  opera- 
tion is  performed  in  sleeping  and  waking, 
at  rest  and  in  action,  in  society  and  in 
solitude.  We  never  cease,  therefore,  to 
thifik^  any  more  than  v^e  cease  to  breathe. 
But  we  generally  think  with  such  rapidity 
and  inattention,  that  our  ideas  are  effaced 
as  easily  as  they  are  produced,  and  leave 
no  sensible  traces  behind  them.  . 

We  often  thinky  then,  without  refect- 
ing ;  and  it  is  seldom  we  examine  with 
attention  what  have  been  our  thoughts. 
Hence  ai  ise  the  little  certainty,  order  and 
consistency  we  observe  in  our  ideas — hence 


Introduction, 


15 


the  slight  conviction  they  produce ;  the 
inconsistency  and  fickleness  of  our  opin- 
ions and  judgments,  and  the  opposition 
that  is  often  seen  between  our  light  and  . 
our  conduct,  our  manner  of  thinking  and 
manner  of  acting.  To  remove  these  de- 
fects, it  is  necessary  to  habituate  ourselves 
to  reflection,  and  to  familiarize  cur  minds 
to  so  noble  and  useful  an  employment. 
To  reflect,  as  the  very  expression  inti- 
mates, is  to  throw  back  the  thoughts  upon 
themselves,  to  return  to  a  thought  we 
have  already  had,  and  to  think  upon  it  a 
second  time,  A  person  who  reflects,  stops, 
and  fixes  upon  one  idea — considers  it  at 
leisure,  and  with  attention — analyzes  it  in 
order  to  discover,  more  distinctly,  the  na- 
ture of  the  object  on  which  he  meditates, 
to  trace  it  in  its  causes  and  eff^ects,  and  to 
draw  consequences  from  it  relating  to  his 
conduct  and  happiness. 

It  is  by  means  of  such  reflection  that 
our  ideas,  and  the  knowledge  we  have  ac- 


16  Introduction, 

quired,  become  more  clear,  complete,  cer- 
tain, interesting  and  useful  to  us  :  And 
such  will  be  the  daily  employment  of  eve- 
ry one  who  zealously  aspires  after  wisdom, 
virtue  and  happiness. 

Properly  speaking,  there  is  no  subject 
upon  which  we  cannot  reflect.  The  field 
of  contemplation  is  immense.  The  heav- 
ens and  the  earth,  creatures,  animate  and 
inanimate  ;  the  present  and  the  future — 
every  thing  invites  to  reflection ;  and 
happy  is  that  man,  whose  faculties  of 
mind,  and  whose  leisure,  permit  him  to 
meditate  on  all  the  variety  of  objects  a- 
round  him,  and  to  taste  the  pleasures  of 
reflection,  to  the  greatest  extent.  But  this 
can  be  only  the  privilege  of  a  few  ;  it  there- 
fore becomes  necessary  for  us  to  make  a 
judicious  selection  and  choice  of  subjects 
on  which  to  fix  our  attention  5  for  every 
exercise  of  reflection  cannot  be  equally 
necessary  and  useful  for  us. 


Introduction. 


17 


What  then  are  the  objects  with  which 
it  most  concerns  us  to  be  acquainted,  and 
what  are  the  subjects  on  which  it  chiefly 
concerns  us  to  reflect  ? 

If  we  would  fix  our  attention  on  sub- 
jects which  are  most  interesting,  we  must 
reflect  on  the  existence  and  providence  of 
God,  on  Jesus  Christ  and  Christianity,  on 
the  immortality  of  the  soul,  and  a  future 
state  of  retribution. 


REFLECTIONS  ON  THE  EXISTENCE  OF  GOD. 


What  is  the  eternal  and  inex- 
Iiaustible  source,  whence  flow  the  streams 
of  light  and  life,  which  diffuse  themselves 
over  all  worlds,  and  all  the  orders  of  be- 
ings which  inhabit  them  ?  What  is  the 
\3niversal  and  incessantly  active  principle 
which  animate  and  gives  life  to  all,  from 
which  the  powers  of  nature  proceed,  and 
byi  whicii  they  are  continually  renewed  ? 

Where  is  the  first  cause  of  all  that  I  be- 
hold ?  I  see  nothing  around  me  but  effects 
which  owe  their  origin  to  other  effects. — 
Every  thing  is  produced  by  another,  and  is 
itself  produced  in  its  turn  by  others.  All 
things  are  connected  and  linked  togeth- 
er.— Does  not  this  connexion  necessarily 
lead  me  up  to  a  first  cause,  eternal,  inde- 
pendent, selfexistent  ^  who  always  did,  and 
always  will,  continue  to  exist  ?  Where  is 


Existence  of  God:  19 

the  first  link  of  this  immense  chain,  and 
the  Almighty  Hand  that  holds  it  ? 

Can  I  doubt  that  this  first  cause  is  in- 
finitely wise,  intelligent  and  good  ?  Do  I 
not  every  where  see  the  sensible  and  strik- 
ing traces  of  intelligence,  wisdom  and  be- 
nevolence— the  appearances  of  order,  har- 
mony, beauty,  design  and  means,  proper 
to  execute  those  designs  ?  Who  hath  as- 
signed to  the  sun,  the  moon,  the  stars,  and 
all  those  thousands  of  worlds  w4th  which 
I  am  surrounded,  the  places  they  occupy, 
and  the  circles  they  run  :  Who  hath  so 
magnificently  adorned  the  place  of  my  a- 
bode,  and  spread  so  much  life  and  pleasure 
amongst  its  inhabitants  ?  What  a  variety 
and  multitude  of  plants,  insects  and  ani- 
mals, cover  the  face  of  the  globe,  all  of 
which,  by  their  structure,  their  instincts, 
their  modes  of  life,  their  labors,  and  their 
relation  to  each  other,  proclaim  the  con- 
summate ability,  and  perfect  wisdom,  of 
Him  who  created  them  !  How  wonderful 


20  Exercises  of  Piety. 

the  manner  in  which  they  multiply  them- 
selves from  age  to  age,  without  ever  alter- 
ing or  confounding  their  species  !  Must  I 
not  do  violence  to  my  understanding,  to 
consider  all  this  as  the  effect  of  chance,  or 
of  a  blind  and  unintelligent  cause  ? 

And  where  is  the  first,  supreme  intelli- 
gence, the  Father  of  Spirits,  who  hath 
created  me,  and  all  other  thinking  and 
reasonable  creatures  ?  For  I  have  not  al- 
ways thought.  I  have  existed  but  a  short 
time,  and  am  equally  ignorant  how  I 
think,  and  how  I  began  to  think.  I  am 
sensible  it  is  not  in  myself  that  I  must  seek 
for  the  true  cause  of  my  existence.  It  is 
not  to  the  immediate  authors  I  am  indebt- 
ed for  it.  They  know  not  how  I  exist, 
and  the  cause  of  their  own  existence  is  no 
more  in  themselves  than  mine  is  in  me. 
Every  thing  informs  me,  also,  that  my 
intelligent  nature  cannot  be  the  v>^ork  of 
chance,  the  effect  of  the  sensible  objects 
which  surround  me,  nor  of  the  gross  ma- 


Existence  of  God,  21 

terials  to  which  I  am  united.  The  order, 
the  connexion,  and  the  harmony  which 
prevail  in  my  thoughts,  will  not  suffer  me 
to  believe  it.  I  cannot  but  observe  that 
my  mind  is  of  a  much  nobler  origin,  and 
is  of  a  nature  far  superior  to  the  body 
which  serves  for  its  covering.  I  perceive 
that  my  soul  is  the  work  of  a  Being  superi- 
or to  all  those  which  I  see  around  me — that 
it  proceeds  from  an  immaterial,  intelligent 
principle,  by  whom  it  lives  and  thinks, 
and  to  whom  it  is  most  intimately  related. 

To  believe  that  there  is  a  first,  eternal 
cause  of  all  things,  an  intelligence  supreme 
and  perfect,  is  to  admit  a  truth,  the  con- 
viction of  which  is  necessary  to  relieve  and 
tranquilize  my  heart  5  and  the  clearer  my 
ideas  on  this  subject,  and  the  more  atten- 
tion I  pay  to  what  passes  within  and  with- 
out me,  the  more  clearly  I  hear  the  voice 
of  nature,  which  announces  to  me  a  Deity. 

O  thou  Being  of  Beings,  infinite,  eter- 
nal 'y  heaven  and  earth  proclaim  thy  exist- 


22  Exercises  of  Piety. 

ence  ! — Every  leaf,  every  plant,  every 
tree,  every  insect,  every  worm  that  crawl- 
eth  on  the  ground,  every  living  and  ra- 
tional creature  speaks  of  Thee.  Every 
thing  that  exists  and  thinks,  celebrates 
thy  praise.  I  behold  Thee  in  the  bright- 
ness of  the  firmament — in  the  mild  light 
which  surrounds,  and  in  the  vital  heat 
which  pervades  ail  animate  beings  !  It 
IS  Thee  I  hear  in  the  soft  murmurs  of  the 
air,  in  the  salutary  blowing  of  the  winds, 
in  the  rustling  noise  of  the  leaves,  in  the 
melodious  song  of  birds,  in  the  intelligible 
language  of  men,  in  the  roaring  waves  of 
the  sea,  and  in  the  thundering  voice  of  the 
tempest.  It  is  Thee  whom  I  perceive  in  the 
impressions  which  external  objects  make 
upon  me,  and  in  the  pleasing,  and  sometimes 
rapturous  feelings  which  arise  from  the 
knowledge  of  truth,  the  practice  of  virtue, 
and  the  expectation  of  a  happy  futurity. 

All  that  exist,  live,  think  and  act,  in- 
form me  there  is  a  God,  an  universal 


Existence  of  God,  23 

principle,  an  eternal  source  of  life,  motion 
and  thought.  Yes,  great  God  !  Thou 
wast,  and  art,  and  art  to  come,  from  ever- 
lasting, and  to  everlasting. 

How  happy  am  I  in  knowing  Thee,  and 
in  being  able,  on  the  wings  of  thought,  to 
elevate  myself  to  Thee  !  What  would  the 
whole  world  be  without  Thee  ? — A  con- 
fused, inexphcable  mystery.  Our  entel- 
ligent  minds  would  be  involved  in  fright- 
ful darkness,  and  all  our  thoughts,  knowl- 
edge, actions  and  enjoyments,  would  lose 
all  their  charms,  together  with  all  their 
use.  If  all  were  but  the  sport  of  chance, 
what  hopes  could  we  cherish  in  our  bo- 
soms i  to  what  fears  should  we  not,  be- 
come the  prey  ?  On  what  could  we,  with 
any  confidence  rely  ?  What  principles 
could  safely  guide  us  in  the  search  of  truth, 
and  in  the  conduct  of  life  ? 

If  I  did  not  know  that  thou,  O  God, 
dost  exist,  I  could  scarce  restrain  myself 
from  envying  the  brutes.    la  this  case, 


24  Exercises  of  Piety* 

the  power  of  thinking,  and  of  ascending 
from  effect  to  cause,  would  be  to  me  a  fa- 
tal present,  and  life  a  burden.  No — it 
is  such  a  Being  as  thyself  alone  which 
could  give  me  a  mind  capable  of  conceiv- 
ing of  Thee,  and  a  heart  burning  with  a 
desire  to  know  Thee,  without  whom  I  can 
enjoy  no  true  felicity. 

By  believing  in  thy  existence,  I  perceive 
the  whole  value  of  my  own.  The  idea 
that  I  am,  that  I  think  and  live,  and  that 
I  owe  these  advantages  to  Thee,  fills  me 
with  joy  unspeakable.  I  am  no  longer 
an  unconnected  individual,  lost  amidst 
the  multitude  of  living  beings.  I  am  no 
longer  an  effect  without  a  cause.  I  am 
the  workmanship  of  sovereign  wisdom 
and  benevolence  5  the  creature  of  Him 
who  hath  created,  and  who  preserves  all| 
beings,  and  all  worlds  ;  the  child  of  the 
common  parent,  of  the  immense  family 
Vvliich  fills  the  heavens  and  the  earth. 


Existence  of  God,  25 

Yes,  O  my  God,  little  as  I  appear  in 
comparison  with  the  vast  universe,  lam  as 
much  thy  v^ork  as  the  sun,  and  all  the 
v/orlds  which  revolve  in  the  immensity  of 
space.  I  am  as  much  thy  child  as  the  most 
exalted  intelligences  which  encircle  thy 
throne.  To  thine  eyes,  thou  eternal  and 
infinite  Being,  all  the  distinctions  which 
are  made  by  men  between  what  they  call 
great  and  little,  disappear.  All  that  comes 
out  of  thine  hands,  is  worthy  of  Thee,  and 
bears  the  impression  of  thy  infinite  wisdom 
and  power. 

What  a  light  is  now  reflected  on  all 
things  around  me !  All  is  good  and  per- 
.  feet  in  its  kind.  Every  thing  is  what  it 
ought  to  be  in  the  place  it  occupies,  and 
according  to  its  design,  for  all  that  exists 
is  the  work  of  the  wisest,  and  the  best  of 
Beings.  The  universe  is  an  immense 
whole,  all  whose  parts,  closely  connected 
together,  promote  the  wisest  and  most  im- 
portant ends. 

c 


26  Exercises  of  Piety, 

What  contentment  and  tranquillity 
now  reign  in  my  heart !  I  know  the  ob- 
ject of  my  faith  and  hope.  I  know  from 
whence  I  came,  by  whom  I  exist,  in  whom 
I  may  rejoice,  and  on  whom  I  can  rely. 
I  know  that  thou  livest,  O  my  God  ;  that 
thou  art  my  Creator  and  my  Father,  and 
the  Creator  and  Father  of  all  men,  and  of 
all  beings,  and  will  be  forever.  May 
nothing  ever  deprive  me  of  this  lively  and 
delightful  conviction.  Father  of  Mer- 
cies !  Strengthen  and  increase  my  faith. 
May  I  be  daily  more  and  more  convinced 
of  thine  existence,  and  adorable  perfec- 
tions ;  and,  filled  with  this  idea,  may  it 
become  to  me  a  constant  source  of  hap- 
piness. 


ON  PROVIDENCE. 


If  God  exists — and  can  I  doubt  of 
it  whilst  the  heavens  and  the  earth,  all 
that  is  within  me  and  without  me,  pro- 
claims this  truth  ? — If  there  is  a  first  e- 
ternal  cause,  a  Creator  of  the  universe, 
there  is  also  a  Providence  which  preserves, 
governs  and  directs  the  several  creatures 
to  their  respective  ends,  and  to  a  perpetu- 
ally increasing  perfection  and  felicity. 

The  idea  I  form  to  myself  of  the  Su- 
preme Being  necessarily  convinces  me  of 
the  truth  of  this  doctrine  ^  and  what  falls 
under  my  notice  of  the  frame  and  consti- 
tution of  all  things  confirms  my  faith  in 
it. 

How  can  he  who  knows  all  things  be 
ignorant  of  what  passes  in  any  part  of  his 
vast  dominions  ?  Must  he  not  know  the 
qualities,  the  abilities,  the  effects,  the 
combinations  of  his  creatures,  animate 


28  Exercises  of  Piety, 

as  well  as  inanimate  ?  Must  he  not  know 
exactly  their  wants,  their  situation,  their 
washes  their  endeavors  ?  Are  they  not  all 
in  his  hands  ?  Can  any  thing  exist,  live, 
be  happy  or  unhappy,  without  his  will  or 
permission  ?  Do  not  all  the  powers  of  na- 
lure  proceed  from  Him  who  is  the  eter- 
nal and  inexhaustible  source  of  motion 
and  of  life  ;  from  Him  who  is  the  Father 
of  our  spirits,  and  the  God  of  the  spirits 
of  all  flesh  ?  And  can  I  believe  that  God, 
despising  the  work  of  his  handj,  will  aban- 
don his  children  to  the  caprice  of  chance, 
and  to  the  weakness  of  nature  ?  Can  I 
think  a  Being  of  perfect  benevolence  can 
be  an  indifferent  spectator  of  the  series  of 
events,  and  insensible  to  the  happiness 
and  misery  of  his  creatures  5  that  eternal 
wisdom  acts  without  an  end,  or  cannot  at- 
tain the  end  it  proposes  ;  or  that  Infinite 
Goodness  will  not  do  all  the  good  that  is 
in  its  power  ? 


On  Promclence, 


29 


I  need  not  be  surprized  if  the  princes  of 
the  earth  neglect  the  people  over  whom 
they  are  placed,  if  their  measures  are  not 
always  wise,  or  their  administrations  free 
from  reproach  ;  and  if,  even  with  the  best 
intentions,  they  frequently  commit  the 
greatest  faults.  Sometimes  they  are  de- 
ficient in  understanding  and  knowledge, 
at  others  in  power  or  benevolence.  Some- 
times they  are  misled  by  error,  at  other 
times  they  are  blinded  by  passion  ;  and 
they  almost  always  sink  under  the  burden 
that  overpowers  them.  Their  feeble  sight 
cannot  take  in  so  large  a  field  at  once  y 
and  neither  their  heads  nor  their  hearts 
are  equal  to  so  many  objects.  But  the 
eye  of  the  Supreme  takes  in  all  things  at 
one  view.  His  understanding  is  infinite 
his  love  and  paternal  kindness  are  bound- 
less. He  cannot  be  deceived  by  false  ap- 
pearances^ — to  him  nothing  is  difficult ; 
his  strength  is  never  weakned,  and  there 
is  no  place  which  his  arm  cannot  reach, 
c  2 


30  Exercises  of  Piety. 

He  sees  all  things  as  they  really  are.  The 
material  and  spiritual  worlds  are  equally 
subjected  to  him.  He  speaks  and  it  is 
done  ;  he  commands  and  it  stands  fast. 
He  doeth  w  hatsoever  he  pleaseth  in  heaven 
and  earth.  No  one  can  stay  his  hand, 
and  say  unto  him,  What  doest  thou  ?  We 
have  every  reason  to  be  satisfied  that  it  is 
infinite  wisdom,  power  and  goodness, 
which  preserve,  direct  and  govern  the 
world  ;  all  things  proceed  from  him,  all 
things  exist  by  him  and  for  him.  The 
perfections  of  the  Divine  Nature  prove 
this  delightful  and  important  doctrine ; 
and  what  falls  under  our  notice  of  the 
frame  and  constitution  of  the  world,  es- 
tablishes it  beyond  all  uncertainty  and 
doubt. 

Are  not  we,  and  all  that  surrounds  us, 
as  feeble  and  dependent  this  day,  as  we 
were  the  former  ?  Are  we  not  as  incapa- 
ble of  prolonging  our  existence  for  a  sin- 
gle moment  as  we  were  of  giving  ourselves 


On  Promdcncc. 


31 


existence  at  first  ?  Can  that  which  is  de- 
pendent become  independent,  and  subsist 
by  itself  ?  Can  the  brook  continue  to  run 
without  its  source,  or  the  weak  and  feeble 
infant  support  itself  without  the  tender 
care  of  its  mother  ?  Is  it  not  necessary 
that  the  Almighty  Will,  which  gave  us 
our  being,  should  be  continually  exerted 
to  prevent  our  sinking  into  our  original 
nothingness  ?  Oh,  my  God  !  every  thing 
convinces  me  that  my  faculties,  my  sta- 
tion, and  the  duration  of  my  existence, 
do  not  depe^id  on  my  will.  It  is  thou 
who  by  a  secret  and  absolute  power  main- 
tainest  my  strength,  motion  and  existence. 
If  my  breath  is  not  stopped — if  my  blood 
circulates — ^if  my  limbs  have  not  lost  their 
activity — if  the  organs  of  my  senses  have 
preserved  their  delicacy — if  in  this  instant 
I  have  the  faculty  of  thinking,  and  the 
use  of  my  reason,  it  is  to  Thee  alone  that 
I  am  indebted  for  this  continued  blessing. 
These  expressions  in  thy  holy  word  then 


32  Exercises  of  Piety, 

are  as  true  as  they  are  beautiful.  "  All 
thy  creatures  wait  upon  thee,  and  thoi^ 
givest  them  their  meat  in  due  season — that 
thou  givest  them  they  gather ;  thou  open- 
est  thy  hand,  they  are  filled  with  good ; 
thou  hidest  thy  face,  they  are  troubled ;  thou 
takest  away  their  breath,  they  die  and  re- 
turn to  their  dust ;  thou  sendest  forth  thy 
spirit,  they  are  created,  and  thou  renewest 
the  face  of  the  earth." 

What  does  the  invariable  order  which 
reigns  in  nature  teach  me ;  the  regular 
and  constant  course  of  the  stars,  the  won- 
derful harmony  of  their  motions,  notwith- 
standing their  innumerable  multitude,  and 
the  difference  of  their  magnitude  ?  What 
does  the  continual  and  well  regulated  suc- 
cession of  days,  and  seedtime,  and  harvest, 
and  the  inexhaustible  fertility  of  nature 
teach  me  ?  Of  what  am  I  informed  by  the 
unchangeable  relations  which  subsist  be- 
tween the  different  kinds  of  plants,  ani- 
mals and  men   and  by  the  exact  propor- 


On  Providence.  3S 

tion  which  takes  place  between  life  and 
death,  between  what  is  destructive  and 
preservative,  between  the  means  and  the 
end  ?  If  chance,  or  a  blind  necessity,  could 
not  produce  this  surprizing  and  harmo- 
nious order,  neither  could  they  preserve 
and  mahitain  it.  Such  constant  regular- 
ity can  only  be  the  effect  of  an  ever  active 
Intelligence,  which  embraces  and  actuates 
all. 

Great  God  !  I  humbly  prostrate  myself 
before  Thee.  Thou  art  the  sovereign  lord 
of  the  universe,  the  great  disposer  of 
events,  the  perserver  and  father  of  all  thy 
creatures.  This  is  what  all  nature  pro- 
clains  to  me ;  but  thy  son  Jesus  Christ, 
hath  more  especially  taught  me  to  consider 
Thee  under  these  glorious  and  consolatory 
relations.  It  is  in  Thee  my  God,  I  live, 
and  move,  and  have  my  being.  If  thou 
suspendest  thine  influence,  I  languish  ;  if 
thou  takest  away  my  breath,  I  die.  Thou 
hast  assigned  to  every  one  the  place  he 


34  Exercises  of  Piety. 

occupies  in  thy  kingdom,  and  hast  deter- 
mined the  number  of  his  days.  Thou 
knowest  all  my  wants,  and  thou  providest 
for  them  with  a  wisdom  and  liberality 
truly  paternal.  Thou  perceivest  all  our 
thoughts,  thou  hearest  all  our  sighs,  and 
thou  weighest  all  our  actions.  Thou  dis- 
coverest  all  the  most  secret  wishes  that  are 
formed  in  our  hearts,  and  there  is  nothing 
so  concealed  as  to  be  unseen  by  Thee. — 
Thou  dwellest  in  light,  and  all  is  light  in 
thine  eyes.  The  darkest  nigth  is  the  same 
to  Thee  as  the  brightest  day  3  the  obscur- 
ity of  the  grave  is  to  Thee  as  the  splendor 
of  the  firmament.  Thou  art  the  ever 
present  eternal  life,  whose  vital  energy  and 
power  animate  and  pervade  the  whole 
universe.  In  the  heavens  and  in  the  earth, 
in  every  being,  in  every  intelligence,  and 
in  the  heart  of  man  we  perceive  thy  con- 
stant agency,  O  omnipotent  Jehovah  !  of 
whom,  and  through  whom,  and  for  whom 
are  all  things  y  to  whom  be  glory  forever. 


On  Proiaidence,  35 

Thou  neglectest  nothing  in  thy  vast 
empire  ;  thou  takest  care  of  the  smallest 
as  well  as  the  greatest  of  thy  works,  of 
the  parts  as  well  as  the  whole.    All  are 
thy  works,  all  equally  present  to  thy  spirit, 
all  closely  bound  and  subjected  to  thy 
laws.    All  are  perfect  in  their  kind,  and 
all  contribute  to  promote  the  greatest 
possible  perfection  and  happiness  in  the 
universe.    It  is  thou  that  clothest  the 
flowers  in  all  their  magnificence;  thou 
givest  to  the  beast  his  food,  and  the  young 
ravens  which  cry.  Not  a  sparrow  falls  to 
the  ground  without  thy  permission. — 
Thou  preservest  andguidset  the  worm  that 
crawleth  on  the   ground,  and  the  sun 
which  shines  in  the  firmament ;  the  frail 
children  of  the  earth,  and  the  sublime  in- 
habitants of  heaven. 

How  low  soever  be  the  rank  we  sustain 
among  rational  creatures,  this  does  not 
prevent  Thee  from  being  our  Father,  and 
from  watching  continually  for  our  pres- 


36  Exercises  of  Piety,. 

ervation  and  happinefs.  Nothing  can 
befall  us  which  thou  hast  not  foreseen, 
and  which  hath  not  made  a  part  of  thy 
plan  as  a  caufe  or  an  efFecl.  Thou  up- 
holdest  all  that  fall,  and  raisest  up  all  those 
that  be  bowed  down  ;  thou  makest  poor, 
and  thou  makest  rich ;  thou  killest,  and 
thou  mskest  alive  ;  thou  woundest,  and 
thou  healest,  neither  is  there  any  that  can 
deliver  out  of  thine  hand.  The  very  hairs 
of  thy  servants'  heads  are  numbered  by 
thee.  Thou  determinest  our  destiny,  and 
the  fate  of  kingdoms  and  of  worlds  and 
all  that  thou  orderest  is  righteous  and 
good. 

However  great  the  plans,  and  however 
exalted  the  ends  of  thy  providence,  thou 
wilt  not  fail  to  execute  the  one  and  attain 
the  other.  How  opposite  soever  the  pow- 
ers of  nature  may  appear,  how  contradic- 
tory soever  the  wifhes,  thoughts,  designs, 
and  endeavors  of  men,  what  thou  hast  re- 
solved on  shall  take  place,  thy  will  shall 


On  Proiidence^ 


be  accomplished  ;  and  from  all  these  con- 
tradictions, real  or  apparent,  the  most 
perfect  harmony  shall  finally  result. 

How  happy  should  I  esteem  myself  in 
being  the  object  of  the  wise  care  and  at- 
tention of  the  best  and  most  tender  of  fa- 
thers. How  happy  is  it  for  me  that  I  am 
not  left  to  myself,  to  the  weakness  of  na- 
ture and  the  extravagance  of  passions  ; 
that  my  fate  is  not  governed  by  my  child- 
ish and  senseless  wishes,  but  by  the  laws 
of  thine  adorable  wisdom  ;  that  it  is  Thou, 
a  Being  of  infinite  knowledge  and  good- 
ness, who  governest  and  directest  my  lot, 
and  not  myself,  a  weak  and  blind  mortal. 

With  what  calm  fearlessness  can  I  now 
contemplate  the  most  extraordinary  and 
frightful  revolutions  in  nature  and  in  so- 
ciety !  With  what  firm  assurance  can  I 
look  forward  to  all  future  events  !  I  know 
that  thine  hand  directs  every  event,  and 
that  nothing  can  take  place  without  thy 
sovereign  will. 


58  Exercises  of  Piety, 

With  filial  confidence  I  commit  into 
thy  paternal  hands  my  lot  in  life,  and  all 
that  shall  befalhne.  Foolish  and  thought- 
less should  I  be,  to  presume  to  prescribe  to 
Thee,  the  manner  in  which  Thou  shouldst 
regulate  my  lot,  the  lot  of  my  friends,  or 
of  all  thy  children  spread  over  the  face  of 
the  earth.  Thou  knowest  and  Thou 
lovest  us  all  better  than  we  do  ourselves. 
Thou  alone  knowest,  with  certainty,  what 
would  be  proper  for  each  of  us  in  our  re- 
spective stations,  and  our  several  rela- 
tions. Little  doth  it  signify  whether  the 
path  by  which  thou  conductest  us  be 
obscure  or  light,  troublesome  or  easy,  if 
it  leads  us  to  perfection  and  happiness. 
This  consideration  alone  should  compose 
my  mind,  and  make  me  say,  with  resigna- 
tion, in  all  imaginable  cases — "  It  is  the 
Lord,  let  him  do  what  seemeth  him  good.'* 
It  is  true  thy  thoughts  are  not  as  our 
thoughts,  nor  thy  ways  as  our  Vv^ays.  Our 
views  are  bounded  by  a  small  circle  of  ob- 


On  Pro'uidence, 


39 


jects,  and  we  behold  but  a  small  part  of 
the  universe.  But  thou  takest  in  at  one 
view,  all  times  and  all  places. ^  all  that  is 
possible,  and  all  that  really  exists,  the  past 
as  well  as  the  most  distant  futurity.  Thou 
seest  at  one  glance  of  thine  eye,  the  im- 
mense chain  of  causes  and  effects  in  all 
ages,  and  in  all  worlds.  What  we  con- 
sider as  ends,  are  often  no  more  than 
means  to  attain  more  important  ends. 
What  we  regard  as  evil,  is  often  only  a 
preservative  from  evil,  much  more  con- 
siderable, and  even  a  fruitful  source  of 
new  blessings. 

Far,  then,  from  permitting  the  least 
murmur  against  the  unsearchable  ways  of 
Providence,  I  put  my  hand  upon  my 
mouth  and  say^ — Father,  not  as  I  will, 
but  as  thou  wilt.  The  time  is  coming 
when  my  faith  shall  be  turned  into  sight ; 
then  shall  I  be  enlightened  with  heavenly 
light  y  then  what  I  here  saw  through  a 
glass  darkly  shall  be  perfectly  revealed — 


40  Exercises  of  Piety, 

Though  clouds  and  darkness  are  now 
roimd  about  the  proceedings  of  the  Most 
High,  I  shall  then  see,  without  an  inter- 
vening cloud,  thy  sublime  designs,  the 
wisdom  of  the  means  by  which  they  were 
accomplished,  and  their  connexion  with 
my  happy  lot.  Then  shall  I  sing  with 
ail  glorified  spirits,  Hallelujah — the  Lord 
God  Omnipotent  reigneth — All  that  the 
Lord  hath  done  is  good — Praise  ye  the 
Lord  ! 


ON  FAITH  IN  JESUS  CHRIST. 


It  is  a  true  and  faithful  saying, 
that  Jesus  Christ  came  into  the  world  to 
save  sinners.  The  dignity  of  his  charac- 
ter, the  beneficence  and  innocence  of  his 
life,  the  sublime  and  consolatory  nature 
of  his  doctrines,  the  disinterested  manner 
in  which  he  and  his  apostles  taught  them 
to  mankind,  the  remarkable  and  unheard 
of  treatment  with  which  he  met,  his  death 
and  resurrection,  the  happy  change  which 
his  religion  produced  in  the  world — these 
are  so  many  plain  and  well  known  facts, 
resting  on  evidence  which  must  be  more 
than  sufficient  to  obtain  for  them  an  en- 
tire credit  and  a  fixed  belief.  And  this 
belief  is  absolutely  necessaiy  for  those  who 
earnestly  long  for  the  knowledge  of  truth, 
and  a  satisfactory  assurance  on  points  the 
most  important  ^  and  who  earnestly  desire 

D  2 


42  Exercises  of  Piety, 

to  be  confirmed  in  virtue,  and  enjoy  a  dur- 
able tranquillity. 

How  deplorable  was  the  condition  of 
the  human  race,  before  Jesus  Christ 
brought  into  the  world  the  light  of  truth  ! 
How  many  errors  were  embraced,  even  by 
the  wisest  and  most  enlightened  of  man- 
kind !  From  what  source  could  they  de- 
rive that  steady  conviction,  that  firm  as- 
surance, that  solid  peace,  those  exalted 
hopes,  that  delightful  confidence  in  God, 
which  are  the  portion  of  the  Christian  ? 
The  most  absurd  idolatries  and  supersti- 
tious customs,  the  most  dangerous  incred- 
ulity and  scepticism,  the  grossest  sensual- 
ity, the  most  dreadful  misery  and  despair, 
had  extended  on  all  sides  their  dominion 
over  the  earth.  And  who  will  venture  to 
deny,  that  the  doctrine  of  Jesus  Christ 
hath  produced  in  these  respects  the  great- 
est and  happiest  revolution  in  the  world  ; 
a  change  which  all  the  wishes  and  all  the 


Faith  in  Jesus  Christ.  43 

efforts  of  the  heathen  philosophers  could 
never  effect  ? 

Is  it  not  Jesus  who  hath  marked  out 
and  cleared  the  path  of  truth,  of  virtue, 
and  of  happiness,  which  so  many  mortals 
sought  before  him  but  could  never  find  ? 
How  many  thousands  and  millions  of 
men  have  arrived  by  this  path  into  that 
firm  persuasion,  that  precious  liberty,  that 
noble  conquest  over  themselves — to  that 
sweet  peace  of  mind,  to  that  contentment 
and  internal  felicity,  after  which  they 
had  so  long  aspired.  How  many  are 
there  at  the  present  day  who  walk  with  a 
serene  mind,  and  an  unshaken  confidence 
in  this  road,  and  approach  nearer  and 
nearer  to  perfection.  Is  it  not  now  much 
easier  for  mankind  to  improve  themselves, 
to  attend  to  the  voice  of  nature,  to  con- 
sult their  reason,  and  to  avoid,  by  the  light 
of  this  heavenly  torch,  the  dark  and  crook- 
ed paths  into  which  men  formerly  wan- 
dered ? 


44  Exercises  of  Piety, 

How  much  am  I  myself  indebted  to  the 
Christian  doctrine  !  And  how  much  hap- 
pier may  I  not  yet  become  by  its  assistance  ? 
I  am  brought  acquainted  with  God — I 
know  that  he  is  my  father,  the  only  living 
and  true  God  ;  a  Being  eternal,  infinitely 
wise  and  good ;  the  Creator,  Preserver  and 
Governor  of  ail  things ;  the  King  of 
heaven  and  earth.  I  know  that  he  is  mer- 
ciful and  kind,  even  to  the  greatest  of  sin- 
ners 'y  and  when  they  repent  and  amend, 
will  forgive  their  sins,  and  receive  them 
into  his  favor.  I  know  that  my  soul  is 
immortal,  and  that  after  the  present  life  a 
more  perfect  and  happy  state,  a  state  of 
retribution,  awaits  me.  But  I  should 
have  been  unacquainted  with  all  these 
things,  how  agreeable  soever  I  now  find 
them  to  the  light  of  reason,  or  I  should 
have  known  them  but  imperfectly,  if  Jesus 
Christ  had  not  revealed  them  to  mankind 
by  commission  from  his  Father.  And 
how  could  I  hz  so  serene  and  happy  as  I 


Faith  in  Jesus  Christ.  45 

now  am,  if  I  had  been  ignorant  of  these 
doctrines ,  or  called  in  question  their  certain- 
ty and  truth.  Do  they  not  spread  a  cheer- 
ing light  on  all  my  being  and  on  all  the  e- 
vents  of  my  life  ?  Do  they  not  give  more  sta- 
bility, a  better  foundation,  and  a  greater 
importance  to  my  thoughts,  principles  and 
actions  ?  And  if  I  obey  the  precepts  of  Je- 
sus, if  I  imitate  his  example,  if  I  am  ani- 
mated by  his  spirit,  how  wise,  good, 
peaceful  and  happy  shall  I  become  r  How 
easy  will  the  practice  of  my  duty  be  to 
me  ?  It  will  then  cost  me  but  little  to  gain 
the  conquest  of  myself,  and  to  live  and  die 
contented.  With  what  zeal  shall  I  do  good ; 
what  peace  will  reign  in  my  heart ;  what 
agreement  and  harmony  in  my  sentiments, 
inclinations  and  conduct  ?  With  what 
joy  shall  I  think  of  God,  with  what  feel- 
ings of  benevolence  and  charity  shall  I  re- 
gard my  fellovv'  creatures  ;  with  what  no- 
ble confidence  shall  I  look  forward  to 
death  and  an  eternal  world  ? 


46  Exercises  of  Piety.  II 

'  And  shall  I  yet  doubt,  after  all  that  my 
experience  teaches  me,  whether  this  doc- 
trine come  from  God, .the  Father  of  light, 
the  Author  and  source  of  all  happiness  ? 
Shall  I  still  doubt  whether  it  be  the  safest 
and  the  shortest  road  to  perfection  and 
felicity  ?  Shall  I  not  embrace,  with  a  lively 
faith,  a  religion  which  in  all  respects  bears 
the  evident  marks  of  a  celestial  origin, 
and  which  must  appear  so  desirable  to  ev- 
ery man  v/hose  mind  is  free  from  preju- 
dice, and  whose  heart  is  uncorrupted — 
a  religion  which  is  so  necessary  to  my 
tranquillity  and  peace  ?  Shall  I  not  re- 
gard it  as  the  most  precious  gift  of  heaven 
to  mankind?  Shall  I  not  acknowledge 
Jesus  to  be  the  organ  of  truth,  the  Savior, 
the  Redeemer  of  the  world  ?  And  shall  I 
not  testify  the  sincerest  gratitude  for  all 
that  he  hath  undertaken  and  suffered  for 
us  ?  Shall  I  not  obey  him  with  my  whole 
heart  ?  Shall  I  not  cheerfully  follow  his 
steps,  and  endeavor  more  and  more  to  re- 


Faith  in  Jesus  Christ,  47 

semble  him,  that  I  may  be  exalted  to  the 
glory  and  felicity  of  heaven  ? 

O  God,  who  art  the  Father  of  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ,  accept  my  praises  and 
thanksgivings  for  having  called  me  to  the 
knowledge  of  the  Gospel,  and  for  disclos- 
ing to  me  in  the  Christian  doctrine,  so 
much  light,  encouragement,  consolation 
and  happiness.  Every  good  and  perfect 
gift  Cometh  down  from  above,  from  the 
Father  of  Lights,  and  consequently  Christ- 
ianity— which  imparts  to  us  such  just 
and  certain  knowledge  of  thy  nature  and 
will;  which  inspires  such  perfect  confi- 
dence in  thy  paternal  bounty  which  gives 
us  the  assurance  of  thy  grace  and  mercy. 
— ^May  no  tormenting  doubts,  no  tumult- 
uous passions  ever  disturb  so  pure  a  spring, 
and  make  me  distaste  these  wholesome  wa- 
ters of  life  !  The  most  ardent  wish  of  my 
heart,  O  my  God,  shall  be  to  deserve,  by 
my  conduct,  the  title  of  Christian  ^  to 
feel,  more  and  more,  the  power  of  the 


48  Exercises  of  Piety, 

Gospel  J  to  enjoy  its  privileges  with  grat-  i 
itude  ;  to  distinguish  myself  from  unbe- 
lievers, by  wisdom  and  virtue,  the  seren- 
ity and  peace  of  my  mind,  and  by  these  J 
means  to  recommend  the  Gospel  to  their* 
esteem  and  regard.  Condescend  to  favor 
my  wishes  by  thy  wiseandgood Providence. 
Strengthen  my  faith  in  this  heavenly  doc- 
trine ;  and  may  this  faith  become  a  more 
active  principle,  and  more  fruitful  of  good 
works.  Let  the  kingdom  of  the  Messiah 
be  extended  and  enlarged  throughout  the 
earth.  Let  Christianity  be  purified  from 
all  human  inventions,  and  let  its  salutary 
influence  be  every  day  more  powerfully 
and  universally  experienced. 


THE  IMMORTALITY  OF  THE  SOUL. 


Enlightened  by  the  Gospel, 

I  have  already  learnt  to  tJiink  and  reason 
with  more  clearness  and  precision  on  this 
\  important  doctrine.  When  a  person  has 
once  got  into  the  path  of  truth,  it  becomes 
easy  for  him  to  advance  and  pass  on  from 
one  truth  to  another.  The  ideas  which  the 
Christian  Religion  has  given  me  of  God, 
of  his  infinite  perfections,  of  his  eternal 
love  to  men,  of  his  mode  of  governing 
moral  agents,  of  his  will  and  designs — all 
these  considerations  lead  me  to  entertain 
the  hope  of  immortality.  The  Gospel 
raises  this  hope  to  the  highest  degree  of 
certainty.  Reason  and  scripture  unite  to 
confirm  this  delightful  doctrine. 

With  a  little  reflection  I  can  easily  sat- 
isfy myself,  that  what  thinks  Within  me^ — 
that  my  mind  is  of  a  nature  totally  differ- 
ent from  my  jody^ — that  it  is  a  principle 

E 


50  Exercises  of  Piety, 

directed,  not  by  mechanical,  but  by  moral 
laws.  I  think—but  I  can,  without  any 
external  impression,  interrupt  or  contin- 
ue my  thoughts,  divert  them  into  another 
channel,  or  fix  them  upon  any  particular 
subject  that  pleases  me.  I  put  my  body 
in  m.otion  3  but  I  can,  without  any  exter- 
nal obstacle,  stop  this  motion,  and  give  it 
an  opposite  direction.  I  exercise  my  will, 
and  my  v/ill  alone  moves  a  multitude  of 
bodies,  in  a  great  variety  of  ways.  I  com- 
municate m.y  thoughts  to  beings  like  my- 
self, and  by  this  means  I  can  regulate 
their  thoughts,  and  influence  their  opin- 
ions, designs  and  actions,  without  the  least 
infringement  on  their  liberty.  No  mere 
body  can  act  in  this  manner,  and  thus 
raise  itself  above  the  laws  of  mechanism. 

That  which  thinks  within  me,  then,  is 
somewhat  totally  different  ivom  my  body. 
I  can  lose  a  considerable  part  of  my  body 
without  losing  one  of  my  ideas.  My  body 
is  perpetually  changing  and  renewing, 


hnmortality,  #1 

nevertheless,  I  always  retain  the  sense  of 
my  existence,  and  of  my  identity.  How 
intimately  connected  soever  my  body  and 
my  mind  may  be,  it  does  not  follow  that 
the  latter  may  not  exist  without  the  form- 
er, and  that  the  destruction  of  the  body 
will  necessarily  draw  after  it  that  of  the 
soul.  Far  from  i^.  The  nature  of  my 
soul  is  so  different,  and  so  superior,  that  I 
am  persuaded  that  it  will  not  perish  v>rith 
the  body,  but  exist  after  the  body  is  dead. 

The  consideration  of  my  mental  facul- 
ties, my  present  situation,  and  the  relations 
in  which  I  stand,  greatly  confirm  this  be- 
lief. I  observe,  m  myself  and  others,  the 
precious  seeds  of  a  multitude  of  excellent 
qualities,  and  exalted  powers,  which  are 
capable  of  perpetually  unfolding  and  en- 
larging their  activity,  and  which  yet  are 
incapable  cf  being  fully  unfolded  and  ex- 
panded in  the  present  state.  To  what  nar- 
row bounds  are  the  faculties  of  my  soul 
confined  by  the  continual  wants  and  occu- 


52  Exercises  of  Pieiy. 

pations  of  life.  How  often  do  these  things 
hinder  me  from  making  that  progress 
which  I  could  wish  in  the  knowledge  of 
truth,  the  practice  of  virtue,  and  the  road 
to  happiness.  The  daily  laborer,  the  me- 
chanic, the  manufacturer,  Have  they  not 
souls  endued  with  tlic  same  facuhics  with 
the  statesman  to  whom  the  welfare  of  a 
nation  is  entrusted,  or  with  the  man  of 
learning  versed  in  the  sublimest  sciences  ? 
Would  not  tlie  former,  placed  in  the  samzC 
circumstance?  with  tlie  latter,  be  equally 
capable  of  the  same  attainments  ?  And 
where  is  the  huma?!  mind  v/hich  hatii  re- 
ceived all  the  cultivation  of  which  it  is  sus- 
ceptible, and  which  wT)uld  not  unfold  still 
more  in  more  favorable  situations  ?  And  is 
it  possible  that  so  many  noble  powers 
should  remain  forever  concealed,  and  never 
arrive  at  all  the  improvement  of  which 
they  are  capable  ? — No — In  the  govern- 
ment of  a  Being  infinitely  wise,  there  can  ^ 
be  no  such  disproportion  between  the 


Immortality.  53 

cause  and  the  effect,  tiie  means  and  the 
end.    Every  one  of  my  faculties,  then,  is 
a  proof  and  a  pledge  of  my  future  existence, 
and  of  the  great  things  which  at  some  fu- 
ture period  I  shall  be  able  to  perform  for 
myself  and  my  brethren. — Every  thing  in- 
forms me  that  my  present  state  is  a  scene 
of  trial  and  discipline — that  in  this  world 
I  do  not  attain  the  end  for  which  I  was 
formed.    Born  into  the  world  without 
knowledge,  I  must  incessantly  labor  to  in- 
form my  mind,  and  I  have  never  finished 
learning.    It  is  not  without  troublesome 
exertion  that  I  acquire  a  facility  of  em- 
ploying my  powers.    Scarcely  have  I  be- 
gun to  improve  my  faculties,  to  discover 
the  footsteps  of  truth,  to  distinguish  reali- 
ty from  appearance,  good  from  evil,  hap- 
piness from  misery  ;  scarcely  have  I  begun 
to  enjoy  the  advantages  my  knowledge 
procures  me,  before  the  scene  of  discipline 
and  of  mortal  life  closes.    But  is  it  to  no 
purpose,  then,  that  I  have  informed  my 

E  2 


54  Exercises  of  Piety. 

mind,  and  exercised  my  abilities  ?  Can  T 
never  make  use  of  the  knowledge  I  have 
acquired,  and  the  faculties  I  have  culti- 
vated, with  so  much  care  ?  Shall  I  never 
reap  the  fruits  of  my  labor  and  pains  ? 
Why  all  this  provision,  these  many  and 
troublesome  preparations,  if  it  lead  to  no 
end  ?  Can  such  a  useless  profusion  exist 
under  the  government  of  an  infinitely  wise 
God  ?  Do  not  the  schools  in  which  youth 
are  educated,  previously  suppose  a  state  of 
society  in  which  they  are  hereafter  to  be 
usefully  employed  r  is  it  to  be  imagined 
that  a  race  of  creatures  thus  furnished  and 
fitted  out,  should  vanish  like  bubbles  in  a 
storm  ?  Can  I  believe  that  God  alone  acts 
without  an  end,  and  without  a  plan  ^  or, 
that  he  is  incapable  of  accomplishing  the 
end  he  proposes  to  himself  ?  No — if  it  be 
evident  that  all  I  see  below  resembles  the 
means,  rather  than  the  end  if  aU  is  rath- 
er begun  than  finished  ;  if  it  be  certain  that 
I  live  in  a  state  of -trial  and  discipline:  it 


is  no  less  clear  that  God  will  raise  me,  af- 
ter this  short  life,  to  new  opportunities  for 
making  use  of  my  faculties  and  talents, 
and  for  attaining  the  perfection  for  which 
he  prepares  me  in  this  school  of  discipline. 

What  cheerful  prospects  open  to  my 
view,  when  I  think  on  the  relations  in 
which  I  stand  to  God,  and  on  the  happi- 
ness to  be  derived  from  union  with  the 
Divinity.  I  earnestly  desire  better  to  know 
my  God,  and  to  be  more  intimately  united 
to  my  Creator,  and  more  and  more  to  re- 
semble him.  And  will  God  annihilate  a 
being  animated  with  such  desires,  who 
burns  with  love  to  him,  and  wishes  to 
love  him  eternally  ?  Will  he  annihilate  a 
child  whom  he  has  rendered  caoable  of 
knov/ing,  of  serving,  and  of  delighting  in 
him,  and  to  whom  he  hath  given  so  many 
proofs  of  paternal  tenderness  ?  No — he  is 
my  father,  and  hath  already  done  too 
much,  for  me  to  harbor  a  fear  that  he  will 
ever  abandon  me.    He  will  xiot  leave  his 


56  Exercises  of  Piety. 

work  imperfect.  He  alone  could  inspire 
me  with  the  ardent  desire  of  uniting  my- 
self to  him  ;  and,  as  he  is  truth  itself,  he 
cannot  fail  to  satisfy  it. 

But  I  am  a  Christian,  and  I  have  on 
this  head  the  most  positive  promises  from 
God,  hich  entirely  remove  every  doubt. 
Life  and  immortality  are  the  consoling 
truths  which  my  Savior  brought  from 
heaven.  To  confirm  them  he  died  on  the 
cross,  and  rose  from  the  dead. 

How  happy  am  I  in  knowing  the  Gos- 
pel— because  he  lives,  I  shall  live  also. — 
Where  he  is,  there  shall  his  follower  be — ^ 
the  more  I  imitate  him  on  earth,  the  more 
shall  I  resemble  him  in  heaven.  Yes,  I 
am  immortal.  The  present  is  properly 
but  the  infancy  of  my  being.  It  is  mere- 
ly preparatory  for,  and  introductory  to,  a 
higher  and  happier  state  of  existence. 

O  thou  Eternal  Source  of  being  and  of 
life,  accept  of  my  sincere  and  devout  thanks- 
givings, for  raising  me  to  this  reviving  and 


Immortality,  57 

iblime  hope,  and  for  giving  me  the  full- 
:  evidence  of  its  truth,  by  thy  son  Jesus 
iirist.  He  is,  in  truth,  the  Resurrection 
and  the  Life.  He  hath  brought  life  and 
1  mortality  to  light  by  his  Gospel.  He 
ith  conquered  death,  and  dissipated  the 
fears  and  terrors  it  inspired. 

How  delightful  is  it  now,  for  me  to 
think  of  Thee,  O  my  God,  and  of  the  re- 
lations in  which  I  stand  to  Thee  !  Now  I 
can  hope  to  pass  continually  from  one  im- 
mense theatre  of  thy  power  to  another,  to 
be  perpetually  discovering  nQw  traces  of 
wisdom  and  goodness,  and  to  be  eternally 
employed  in  admiring  the  works  of  thy 
hands. 

A  new  and  ravishing  prospect  opens  to 
my  eyes  3  a  scene  of  more  noble  employ- 
ments, of  purer  pleasures,  and  of  a  felicity 
better  suited  to  my  desires  and  faculties. 
Here  below  I  see  things  through  a  glass, 
darkly;  there  I  shall  see  things  as  tliey 
really  are.    Here  I  exert  my  powers  but 


53  Exercises  of  Piety.  'I 

in  feeble  endeavors ;  there  I  shall  exerciser! 
them  in  the  most  certain  and  happy  effect. 
Here  I  think  and  act  like  a  child — I  judge, 
I  rejoice,  and  afflict  myself  like  a  child  3,1 
there,  arrived  at  maturity,  I  shall  thi»k 
and  act  as  a  perfect  man.  If  my  knowl- 
edge be  at  present  confined  within  narrow 
bounds,  I  will  not  be  distressed.  I  go 
shortly  into  an  eternal  world,  where  I 
shall  make  continual  improvements  in  the 
knov/ledge  of  truth. — The  book  of  nature 
shall  not  always  be  a  book  which  I  cannot 
read  ;  nor  the  Temple  of  Truth  be  always 
so  inaccessible  as  I  at  present  find  it,  I  go 
to  a  world  where  I  shall  learn  better  to 
read  the  one  and  penetrate  the  other. — 
How  intimately  is  the  present  scene  con- 
nected with  the  future  !  All  that  I  think, 
all  that  I  do,  all  that  actually  befalls  me, 
has  an  influence  on  my  eternal  destiny. — 
Now  I  sow.  One  day  I  shall  reap.  Now 
I  labor,  endure  and  suffer.  One  day  I  shall 
gather  the  fruit  of  my  toils,  and  be  re- 


Immortality.  59 

qompensed  for  my  sufFerings.  Now  I 
prepare  for  enjoyment.  One  day  I  shall 
be  pat  in  possession.  This  is  the  time  of 
trial  and  discipline — that  of  retribution 
shall  soon  arrive.  And  shall  I  confine  all 
my  thoughts  to  the -present  moment  ? 
Shall  I  choose  and  seek  for  nothing  but 
what  will  produce  an  imm.ediate  gratifica- 
tion ?  Shall  I  be  unconcerned  about  eter- 
nity ?  No — oh  my  God,  I  would  live  as 
becomes  my  celestial  destination,  and  think 
and  act  as  an  immortal  creature. 

Oh  my  God  !  Vv^hat  is  man — vvhat  am 
I,  that  thou  shouldst  condescend  to  render 
me  capable  of  eternal  felicity  !  O  may  the 
idea  of  the  dignity  of  my  nature,  the  no- 
bleness of  my  origin,  and  the  grandeur  of 
my  destination,  be  never  effaced  from  my 
mind.  Never  v/ill  I  forget  that  I  am  cre- 
ated in  thy  image,  and  that  I  am  thy  child. 
Never  will  I  degrade  my  nature,  and  be- 
come the  willing  slave  of  sin  and  vice. — 
Assist  me,  O  Heavenly  Father,  and  let  thy 


60  Exercises  of  Piety. 

spirit  sustain  and  strengthen  mine,  that, 
properly  estimating  the  advantages  I  en- 
joy, I  may  learn  rightly  to  improve  them, 
and  thus  become  happier  through  eternity. 

Let  my  body  wither  like  the  flower  of 
the  field,  and  return  to  the  dust,  from 
whence  it  was  taken.  It  is  a  coarse  cov- 
ering which  I  resign  to  corruption  without 
regret.  My  mind,  incorruptible,  shall  rise 
above  the  dust,  and  return  to  God  who 
gave  it.  I  shall  one  day  be  clothed  with 
a  more  perfect  and  durable  covering — a 
glorious  and  celestial  body,  resembling  that 
of  my  exalted  Savior. 

My  days  now  fly  away  with  npidityf 
and  my  life  disappears  as  a  fleeting  dream. 
But  what  are  a  few  days,  and  months,  and 
years — what  is  the  whole  life  of  man  to 
one  who  perceives  himself  to  be  immortal, 
and  who  is  hastening  to  eternity  ? 

No— neither  death  nor  the  grave  cati 
alarm  or  frighten  me.  O  God,  who  hast 
formed  my  mind,  and  made  it  capable  of 


Immortality.  61 

rising  and  still  rising  in  the  scale  of  being 
towards  thyself,  thou  wilt  not  leave  my 
saul  in  the  grave. — Death  is  only  a  passage 
to  a  better  life. — Whether  it  come  this 
day  or  the  next,  I  will  commit  my  de- 
parting spirit  into  thy  hands. — If  I  die,  O 
my  God,  thou  wilt  receive  me  unto  thy- 
self. By  death  thou  wilt  bring  thy  child 
from  labor  to  repose,  from  combat  to  vic- 
tory, and  from  the  age  of  infancy  to  man- 
hood. Sublime  hopes — delightful  pros- 
pects, be  ye  always  present  to  my  mind  ! 


ON  LOVE  TO  GOD, 

O  GOD,  thou  art  love  itself !  TheW 
book  of  nature,  and  the  book  of  revelation 
teach  this  truth;  and  my  heart — that^^ 
heart  which  thou  hast  formed  to  love  Thee, 
and  which  thou  hast  made  capable  of  tast- 
ing this  exquisite  pleasure — will  not  per- 
mit me  to  doubt  it. 

Thou  art  the  origin  and  source  of  all 
the  variety  of  beauties  and  perfections  that 
are  dispersed  throughout  the  earth  :  All 
that  is  great  and  amiable  unite  in  Thee. 
To  will,  and  to  do  good — this  is  thy  di-  i 
vine  essence.    Thou  regardest  all  the  be- 
ings thou  hast  formed  with  paternal  affec- 
tion.   Thou  takest  care  of  them ;  thou 
doest  them  good.    All  that  comes  from 
Thee,  O  thou  Supreme  !  All  that  proceeds 
from  thy  hand,  good  and  evil,  pleasure 
and  pain,  prosperity  and  adversity,  favors 
and  chastisements,  all  tend  to  promote  our 
felicity,  all  are  adapted  to  exalt  us  to  great* 
er  perfection. 


Lolje  to  God,  63 

I  myself,  who  am  so  inconsiderable  a 
creature,  who  am  as  nothing  w^hen  com- 
pared with  the  rest  of  thy  creation,  I  can 
every  moment  draw  comfort  from  this  in- 
exhaustible source.  In  what  intimate  re- 
lations do  I  stand  to  Thee  ?  Thou  art  my 
Creator — I  am  the  w^ork  of  thy  hands. 
Thou  art  my  Sovereign,  and  I  am  thy 
subject.  Thou  art  my  Father,  and  I  am 
thy  child.  Can  I  be  connected  v/ith  Thee 
by  stronger  and  more  endearing  ties  ?  Can 
any  thing  giveajuster  claim  to  all  the  af- 
fections of  my  heart  than  these  natural 
and  indissoluble  relations  give  ?  And  art 
thou  not  the  kindest,  the  most  bountiful, 
the  tenderest  and  most  affectionate  Fa- 
ther ?- Am  I  not  indebted  to  Thee,  for  life 
and  breath,  and  all  things  ? 

How  various  and  great  are  the  gifts  and 
benefits  which  thou  hast  heaped  upon  me, 
and  which  thou  still  continuest  to  bestow  ! 
All  that  I  am,  all  that  I  have,  all  that  I 
am  capable  of  being,  is  the  effect  of  thy 


64  Exercises  of  Piety. 

munificence.  Thy  bounty  provides  for 
the  wants  of  my  body  and  my  soul.  With 
how  many  advantages,  comforts,  pleas- 
ures and  joys,  hast  thou  strewed  my  path  ? 
What  assistance  dost  thou  grant  to  my 
vweakness,  with  what  indulgence  dost  thou 
bear  with  my  sins,  and  with  what  tender 
solicitude  dost  thou  recal  me  from  my  wan- 
derings. With  what  wisdom,  dost  thou 
4  conduct  and  direct  my  lot,  and  all  that 
shall  befall  me. 

But  how  can  I  speak  of  the  unmerited 
and  inestimable  tokens  of  thy  love  which 
Thou  hast  given  me  by  Jesus  Christ, 
through  whora  thou  hast  taught  me  to 
liope  for  the  forgiveness  of  sins,  the  aids 
of  thy  spirit,  and  everlasting  life. 

Yes,  O  my  God,  thou  art  essentially 
bountiful  and  good,  and  wilt  be  so 
forever.  I  find  myself  as  much  sur- 
rounded with  thy  mercies  as  I  am 
With  the  light  which  shines  around 
me.    I  have  daily  experience,  that  to  do 


Love  to  God.  65 

good  and  to  bless  is  thy  eternal  employ- 
ment. 

And  shall  I  not  love  Thee  with  all  my 
heart,  and  soul,  and  mind,  and  strength  ? 
Shall  not  the  idea  of  thy  existence  and 
amiable  attributes  become  the  most  nat- 
ural, and  most  delightful  and  consoling 
idea  I  am  capable  of  forming.  Can  I 
think  of  Thee,  O  my  God — of  Thee  v^^ho 
art  my  Creator,  my  Benefactor,  my  Fa- 
ther, as  well  as  of  all  other  bei  ngs— with-* 
out  experiencing  the  most  delightful  sat- 
isfaction, vv'ithout  feeling  the  most  lively 
transports  of  gratitude  and  joy  r  I  rejoice 
in  Thee,  O  my  God,  I  rejoice  in  thinking 
that  Thou  existest,  that  Thou  art  an  eter- 
nal and  infinitely  perfect  Being.  I  re- 
joice in  thinking  of  the  close  relations 
which  unite  me  to  Tiice.  I  rejoice  in 
thinking  on  the  ways  of  thy  providence, 
on  the  manner  in  v/liich  thou  liast  ar- 
ranH:ed  all  thin,^s  in  the  natural  and  mor- 
al  world.    I  rejoice  to  think  that  every 

F  2 


-  66  Exercises  of  Piety, 

thing  takes  place  by  thy  vvill,  that  it  is 
Thou  who  orderest  and  directest  all  things ; 
that  all  is  good  and  perfect  in  its  kind ; 
that  all  is  the  effect  and  proof  of  thine  in- 
finite love.  It  is  in  this  light  I  would 
henceforward  see  all  things ;  blessings  and 
afrtictions,  pleasures  and  pains,  all  that  be- 
falls others  and  myself.  I  will  not  forget 
that  all  things  come  from  Thee,  provided  by 
thy  wisdom  and  bestovv^ed  by  thy  love.  My 
joy,  my  happiness,  shall  ahvays  consist  in 
loving  Thee,  in  conforming  my  will  to 
thine,  in  resigning  myself  entirely  into  thy 
hands  as  into  the  hands  of  the  best  of  fa- 
thers, and  hereby  strengthening  more  and 
more  the  ties^  which  unite  me  to  Thee. 

It  is  true  my  gross  senses,  and  the  dif- 
ferent ties  v»'hich  unite  m.e  to  the  earth,  do 
not  permit  me  so  often  to  elevate  my  soul 
to  Thee,  nor  to  perceive  thine  adorable 
perfections  and  august  presence  in  that 
lively  manner,  my  soul  desires,  in  the  mo- 
ments consecrated  to  piety  ;  but  I  will 


Lo'De  to  God.  67 

cherish  the  hope  that  I  shall  hereafter 
know  Thee  better,  adore  Thee  more  wor- 
thily, unite  myself  more  closely  to  Thee^, 
and  love  thee  with  more  ardor  ;  and  then 
shall  I  experience,  in  contemplating  Thee, 
0  my  God,  the  most  pure  and  most  rav- 
ishing joy. 


ON  LOVE  TO  JESUS  CHRIST, 


O  MY  Savior,  when  I  read  the 
history  of  thy  life,  how  is  my  admiration 
excited,  my  gratitude  enkindled,  my  love 
inflamed  and  my  faith  confirmed  !  Wheth- 
er I  mix  in  the  crowd  that  follows  Thee, 
or  join  the  small  number  of  thy  beloved 
disciples,  to  listen  to  the  instructions  flovv' 
ing  from  thy  divine  lips — whether  I  ac 
company  Thee  to  the  temple^  mingle  in 
the  company  of  thy  friends  or  enemies,  o: 
go  with  Thee  to  the  solitary  mountains 
or  the  peaceful  town  of  Bethlehem— 
whether  I  behold  Thee  surrounded  with 
little  children,  or  the  infirm,  the  diseased, 
the  poor  and  the  distressed— whether  I 
hear  those  around  Thee  crying,  Hosanna 
to  the  Son  of  David,  or  crucify  him,  cru- 
cify him— whether  I  contemplate  Thee 
acting  or  suffering.  Thou  appearest  always 
the  same  ^  meek  and  humble,  patient  and 
resigned    supplying  the  necessitous,  re^ 


LoDC  to  Jesus  Christ.  69 

lieving  the  distressed,  instructing  the  ig- 
norant, and  laboring  with  unwearied  zeal 
for  the  reformation  and  the  happiness  of 
the  human  race. 

How  can  I  think  of  Thee  without  ex- 
periencing the  most  lively  admiration,  the 
most  exalted  gratitude  and  the  purest  love  ? 
Thou  hast  heaped  on  me  innumerable  fa- 
vors ;  thou  hast  brought  me  to  the  knowl- 
edge of  truths  the  most  sublime  and  con- 
solatory3  and  hast  guided  me  in  the  path 
of  light,  where  I  find  so  much  joy  and  sat- 
isfaction. If  I  no  longer  groan  in  the 
darkness  of  idolatry,  and  under  the  bond« 
age  of  vice  and  superstition  )  if  I  no  lon- 
ger tremble  at  the  idea  of  God,  as  of  a  se- 
vere master  and  inexorable  judge  5  if  I  no 
longer  consider  death  with  fear  and  ter- 
ror, as  the  termination  of  my  existence 
and  my  happiness— it  is  to  Thee  I  am  in- 
debted. Thou  hast  opened  my  heart  to 
the  sweetest  hopes,  and  hast  disclosed  to 
the  eyes  of  my  faith  the  most  cheering 


70  Exercises  of  Piety. 

prospects.  Art  thou  not  my  Savior  ? 
Am  I  not  the  object  of  thy  compassion, 
whom  thou  hast  rescued  from  perdition  ? 
Yes. — It  is  by  thy  doctrine  I  am  brought 
from  darkness  to  Hght,  from  misery  to 
happiness.  Thou  hast  loosed  my  bonds ; 
Thou  hast  set  me  free,  and  put  me  into 
a  condition  of  rejoicing  in  my  hberty.  He 
whom  thou  hast  freed,  O  Son  of  the  Pvlost 
High,  is  free  indeed  \ 

Art  thou  not  my  forerunner  and  my 
guide  in  the  road  of  virtue  and  felicity  ? 
Am  I  not  thy  follower  ;  and  ought  I  not 
to  walk  in  thy  steps  ?  Thou  hast  smooth- 
ed the  path  of  life,  and  leadest  me  in  the 
way  in  which  I  should  go.  Conducted 
by  thy  spirit,  I  shall  walk  with  a  firm  and 
steady  step  and  shall  finally  arrive  at  the 
mark  to  which  thou  callest  me.  What 
acknowledgments  do  I  owe  Thee  !  To 
what  height  of  felicity  hast  thou  raised 
me  ;  and  how  much  happier  still  may  I 
become  by  thine  assistance  I 


Love  to  Jesus  Christ,  7.1 

But  in  order  to  procure  all  these  advan- 
tages and  blessings  for  me  and  for  my 
brethren,  how  many  hardships  hast  Thou 
experienced,   how  many  sacrifices  hast 
Thou  made,  to  what  humiliations  hast 
Thou  submitted !  What  a  toilsome  life 
hast  Thou  led,  and  what  grievous  afflic- 
tions hast  Thou  endured  !  Thou  hast  gen- 
erously sacrificed  thyself  for  us.  Thou 
hast  died  that  we  might  live,  and  be  eter- 
nally happy.    Can  there  be  a  more  con- 
vincing proof  of  love  than  that  of  yielding 
life  for  our  friends  ?  And  Thou,  generous 
Benefactor  of  mankind,  Thou  hast  done 
still  more.  Thou  hast  died  for  us  who  nei- 
ther knew  Thee  nor  loved  Thee. 

And  shall  I  be  so  vmgratcful  as  not  to 
love  Thee,  who  hast  first  loved  me,  and 
who  hast  obtained  such  astonishing  bles- 
sings for  me  ?  V/hen  I  muse  on  all  these 
things,  I  feel  my  heart  burn  within  me ; 
I  am  filled  with  gratitude  and  joy,  and  I 
ardently  desire  more  and  more  to  resem- 


72  Exercises  of  Piety. 

ble  Thee.  The  thought  that  Thou  art 
my  Master,  my  Guide,  my  Savior,  ray 
Lord,  and  my  Xing,  and  that  I  am  thy 
disciple,  thy  follower,  thy  subject,  shall  be 
my  boast  and  my  happiness.  Constrain- 
ed by  thy  love,  I  will  cordially  obey  thy 
laws,  and  cheerfully  imitate  thy  example, 
governed  by  the  spirit  of  true  affection, 
every  hardship  is  easy,  every  burden  light. 
Command  me  to  any  duty,  however  pain- 
ful and  laborious,  I  will  v/elcome  thy 
will.  Bid  me  take  up  my  cross,  and  sac- 
rifice my  pleasures  and  earthly  prospects, 
I  follow  thy  footsteps  with  resignation 
and  joy.  I  will  take  the  liveliest  inter- 
est in  all  that  Thou  hast  done,  taught, 
and  suffered.  I  will  rejoice  in  thy  grace 
and  benevolence  to  the  human  race,  and 
will  endeavor  to  make  all  around  me  ac| 
quainted  with  our  obligations  to  Thee.  I 
sincerely  rejoice  Thou  art  gone  to  the  Fa- 
ther, as  our  advocate  and  prevailing  inter- 
cessor   And  that  Thou  hast  gone  to  pre- 


Lo'oc  to  Jesus  Christ,  73 

pare  mansions  of  blessedness  for  those 
who  love  thee,  that  where  thou  art  they 
may  be  also. 

Blessed  and  glorious  Savior,  accept  our 
praise  !  Blessing,  and  honor,  and  glory, 
and  power  be  unto  Him  who  sitteth  on 
the  throne,  and  unto  the  Lamb  forever 
and  ever. 


6 


ON  LOVE  TO  MANKIND, 


As  God  is  Love  itself,  so  his  great' 
commandment  in  nature  and  religion  is 
fraternal  Love.  We  are  formed  by  nature 
to  take  a  part  in  the  pleasures  and  pain« 
of  pur  fellov\^creatures  s  and  the  exercise 
of  this  affection  for  others,  is  the  source  of 
the  purest  and  the  sweetest  pleasures  to 
ourselves.  We  cannot  with  a  generous 
heart  assist  our  brethren,  do  them  a  kind  - 
ness, and  bear,  on  their  account,,  a  trouble 
or  a  loss,  without  feeling  an  elevation 
of  mind,  and  an  addition  to  our  happi- 
ness ;  and  never  do  we  shut  our  hearts  to 
love- — never  do  we  open  them  to  envy,  ha- 
tred and  enmity,  without  disturbing  the 
peace  of  our  minds,  and  rendering  our- 
selves more  or  less  unhappy.  So  clearly  is 
it  thy  will,  O  my  God,  that  we  should  love 
one  another.  So  audible  is  the  voice  of 
nature  which  speaks  in  favor  of  our  breth^ 
ren,  and  which  resounds  to  the  bottom  of 
the  heart. 


Loi:e  to  Mankind.  75 

Thou,  O  God,  hast  so  interwoven  our 
reciprocal  interests,  our  pleasures  and  our 
pains,  all  our  employments,  labors,  de- 
signs and  hopes :  Thou  hast  so  connect- 
ed us  together,  that  it  is  in  the  bosom  of 
society,  and  in  the  mutual  exertion  of  our 
powers,  we  can  alone  attain  the  end  of  our 
existence,  and  enjoy  all  the  happiness  of 
which  we  are  susceptible.  Could  man- 
kind be  capable  of  existing  in  an  independ- 
ent state,  or,  what  is  the  same,  a  state  of 
equality,  the  noblest  affections  of  the  hu- 
man breast  would  lan2:uish  and  die  with- 
out  an  object  for  their  exertion  ;  human 
nature  would  degenerate  into  savageness, 
and  the  solitary  individual,  lost  to  all  sense 
of  what  is  great  and  liberal,  would  know 
no  happiness  himself  by  having  no  inter- 
est in  the  happiness  of  others.  But  in 
that  state  of  mutual  dependence  in  which 
Thou,  the  great  Parent  of  m^ankind,  hast 
placed  us,  an  intercourse  of  mutual  good 
offices  is  kept  up,  habits  of  reciprocal  af- 


T6  Exercises  of  Piety, 

fection  are  formed,  and  general  order  and 
harmony  promoted. 

When  I  consider  the  relations  which 
subsist  between  my  brethren  and  myself,  I 
am  naturally  led  to  consider  what  frater- 1 
nal  affection  I  should  feel  for  them. — 
Thou  hast  united  us,  O  ray  God,  by  a 
thousand  ties.  The  same  blood  runs  in 
our  veins ;  members  of  the  same  family, 
we  all  descend  from  the  first  man  whom 
Thou  createdst,  and  we  all  adore  Thee  as 
our  common  Parent.  We  have  all  the 
same  origin,  the  same  nature,  and  the  same 
destination.  The  small  and  great,  subjects 
and  sovereigns,  are  all  formed  fro  m  the 
same  dust,  and  shall  all,  sooner  or  later, 
return  to  it.  But  we  have  within  us  what 
is  more  noble  and  divine ;  a  mind  that 
can  raise  itself  to  the  knowledge  of  Thee, 
and  unite  itself  to  Thee,  who  art  the  Fa- 
ther of  spirits.  Endued  with  the  same 
faculties,  v/ith  the  same  corporeal  and 
mental  powers  >  reason  and  liberty  are  our 


Love  to  Mankind,  77 

greatest  ornament.  The  traces  of  thy  di- 
vine image  shine  equally  in  the  poorest 
and  richest,  in  the  highest  and  lowest  of 
mankind.  Subjected  to  the  same  wants, 
we  are  united  by  a  variety  of  ties.  No 
one  can  do  without  his  brethren,  or  is 
sufficient  by  himself ;  no  one  can  be  ex- 
clusively happy.  Thou  hast  so  interwov- 
en our  pleasures  and  pains,  with  the 
pains  and  pleasures  of  others,  that,  with- 
out reciprocal  assistance,  vve  can  neither 
taste  the  one,  nor  sustain  the  other  ^  and 
whatever  may  be  our  external  situation, 
the  great  purpose  of  our  being  is  the  same. 
This  life  is  to  each  of  us  the  school,  the 
scene  of  discipline  and  trial  3  and  immor- 
tality our  common  hope. 

And  shall  I  not  love  beings  so  closely 
connected  with  me,  and  who  resemble  mc 
in  so  many  things  ?  Shall  I  be  cold  and 
; indifferent  with  respect  to  them  ?  Shall  I 
even  permit  myself  to  hate  them  r  Shall 
I  not  know  them  vv^hen  I  meet  them  in 


78  Exercises  of  Piety, 

the  garb  of  indigence,  and  the  tatters  of 
poverty  ?  Shall  I  be  ashamed  of  being 
their  relation,  their  companion,  their 
brother  ?  Shall  I  treat  them  as  beings  of 
an  inferior  species,  and  withhold  from 
them  the  affection  and  concern  which  ! 
owe  them  ?  If  this  were  the  case,  dare  I 
continue  to  boast  of  being  a  man  ?  Could 
I  say  that  I  perceive,  that  I  feel  the  dig- 
nity of  my  nature  ? 

Can  I,  especially,  sustain  the  character 
of  a  Christian,  if  I  am  not  actuated  by  a 
sincere  "and  generous  affection  for  all  men  ? 
Is  not  the  whole  of  Christianity  summed 
up  in  love  ?  Is  not  this  the  object  which 
all  its  instructions,  all  its  precepts,  all  its 
promises  are  employed  to  attain  ?  "By 
this,"  says  Christ,  "shall  all  men  know 
that  ye  are  my  disciples,  if  ye  love  one  an- 
other." 

Every  man,  then,  whatever  be  his  name, 
ills  rank,  his  station,  his  condition,  his 
country,  or  religion- — every  man  is  my 


Loii€  to  Mankind.  79 

neighbor  and  my  brother ;  every  man  is 
thy  work  and  thy  child,  O  thou  Creator 
of  the  human  race  !  Beloved  and  cherish- 
ed by  Thee,  he  ought  to  be  so  by  me.  No 
one  ought  to  be  indifferent  to  me,  no  one 
ought  to  be  excluded  from  my  affection, 
*Far  from  despising  and  hating  them,  I 
will  regard  them  all  with  that  benevolence 
with  which  thou  regardest  them. 

Nothing  which  relates  to  them,  noth- 
ing which  happens  to  them,  shall  be  in- 
different to  me.  I  will  weep  with  them 
that  weep,  and  rejoice  with  them  that  re- 
joice. What  interests  my  fellowcreatures 
shall  be  interesting  to  me.  The  evils  they 
suffer,  the  blessings  they  enjoy,  are  bles- 
sings and  evils  common  to  human  nature, 
belonging  equally  to  the  great  family  of 
which  I  am  a  member.  KvA  what  sight 
can  be  more  pleasing  to  Thee,  O  Heaven- 
ly Father,  than  that  of  thy  children  unit- 
ed together  in  love,  having  but  one  heart 
and  one  soul  ? 


80  Exercises  of  Piety. 

If  I  am  animated  with  these  sentiments, 
my  love  will  be  neither  barren  nor  un- 
fruitful. It  will  direct  me  in  all  my  con- 
duct, and  influence  every  action.  I  shall 
do  with  pleasure  \'^'hat  it  requires,  and  a- 
void  what  it  forbids.  I  shall  harbor  no 
thought,  I  shall  cherish  no  wish,  I  shall 
utter  no  vv'ord,  J  shall  pass  no  judgment, 
I  shall  form  no  designs,  execute  no  un- 
dertaking, and  enjoy  no  pleasures-,  which 
may  be  inconsistent  with  love.  Influenc- 
ed by  this  generous  principle,  I  shall  cheer- 
fully sacrifice  my  own  personal  advantage 
for  the  general  good.  I  shall  be  will- 
ing to  labor  and  suffer  for  others.  I 
shall  live  to  be  useful  to  them,  and  to 
return  the  kindnesses  they  have  done  me. 
As  far  as  I  can,  I  will  deliver  them  from 
the  burdens  with  which  they  are  oppress- 
ed, or  lighten  their  weight.  I  will  remove 
from  their  path  the  stone  of  stumbling, 
second  their  good  intentions,  befriend 
their  useful  undertakings^  and  do  all  in 


LoDe  to  Mankinds  81 

my  power  to  unite  them  more  and  more 
to  each  other.  I  vvill  countenance,  as  far 
as  depends  on  me,  the  progress  of  truth 
and  of  virtue,  of  liberty  2ndi  happiness  5 
,and  spread,  to  the  utm.ost  of  my  abiUty, 
content  and  joy  in  the  chxie  in  which  I 
move.  This  is  Vv  hat  love  requires  of  me, 
and  to  tliess  cbject3  all  my  eiforts  shall  be 
directed. 

But  \ti  ihz  Txow  inquire  what  hath 
hitherto  been  my  conduct  in  this  respect  ? 
What  good  or  what  evil  have  I  done  ? 
Have  I  injured  or  aSicted  any  one  ?  Have 
none  of  my  brethren  ^  ground  of  com- 
plaint againct  uie  ?  Is  there  no  one  weep- 
ing under  tL.  Jiigs  ^  have  done  him  ? 
Is  there  no  pcor,  unfortunate  person, 
whom  I  might  have  i-el'^ved,  and  to  whom 
I  have  refused  assistance  ?  No  feeble  crea- 
ture, no  sinner,  whose  frailties  and  faults 
I  ought  to  have  borne  with ;  whose  a- 
mendment  I  should  have  tried  by  frater- 
nal remonstrances  to  have  effected ,  and 


82  Exercises  of  Piety, 

whom,  instead  of  this,  I  have  made  to  feel 
the  effects  of  my  anger  and  wrath  ?  Is 
there  no  one  in  a  low  condition  whom  I 
have  treated  with  haughtiness,  no  timid 
and  modest  person  whom  I  have  tyran-|| 
nized  over  and  oppressed  ?  Is  there  no  on© 
who,  at  this  moment,  is  lamenting  my 
conduct  towards  him  ?  Have  I  iudrred  no 
one  with  too  moch  severity,  and  reproach- 
ed no  one  unjustly  ?  Alas  !  If  at  this  mo- 
ment anv  one  of  mv  fellowcreatures  is 
shedding  a  tear  on  my  account,  or  expe- 
riencing some  disappointment  through  my 
misconduct,  how.  can  I  lock  up  to  Thee, 
my  God  ?  How  dare  I  call  Thee  Father, 
and  consider  myself  as  thy  child,  if  I  have 
hardened  mjy  heart  against  the  distresses  of 
others  !  Let  me,  then,  draw  to  my  bosom ' 
my  brother,  whom  I  have  injured  or  af- 
flicted, take  from  him  all  occasion  of  dis- 
satisfaction, wipe  away  all  tears,  and  tes- 
tify to  him  my  repentance  ! 


Loi:e  to  Mankind,  83 

I  will  do  what  I  can  to  repair  the  in- 
jury. I  will  not  be  ashamed  to  acknowl- 
edge my  fault  and  to  correct  it,  were  it 
my  inferior,  my  servant,  or  the  lowest  per- 
son upon  earth  that  I  have  injured.  For 
the  least  as  well  as  the  greatest  is  my  broth- 
ei',  the  child  of  my  heavenly  Father,  to 
whom  I  owe  as  much  affection  as  to  oth- 
■ers.  O  God  !  Confirm  me  in  this  pur* 
pose  and  give  me  strength  to  execute  it ; 
and  let  the  purest  and  the  liveliest  lov^ 
penetrate  and  inflame  my  heart,  and  let  it 
make  me  more  and  more  to  resemble 
Thee,  v^'ho  art  Love,  and  who  dwellest  in 
Love. 


LOVE  OF  LABOR ;  OR,  ATTACHMENT  TO^ 
THE  DUTIES  OF  OUR  CONDITION.  I 

Thou  hast  designed  us.  Oh  God, 
for  action  and  labor,  and  Thou  hast  con- 
nected the  greatest  advantages  and  the 
sweetest  pleasures  with  an  active  and  in- 
dustrious hfe.  Woe  to  him  who,  forget- 
ting the  design  of  his  being,  gives  himself 
up  to  sloth  and  idleness.  Peace  and  con- 
tentment fly  far  from  him.  Dissatisfac- 
tion and  weariness  attend  his  steps;  shame 
and  misery  will  sooner  or  later  be  his  por- 
tion. 

It  is  only  when  I  make  a  proper  use  of 
my  abilities,  when '  I  fulfil  with  fidehty 
and  exactness  the  duties  of  my  station,  and 
successfully  contribute  to  the  public  good; 
it  is  then,  alone,  I  taste  the  pure  pleasures 
of  existence  ;  it  is  then  only  I  can  with 
comfort  account  to  myself,  and  to  Thee, 
my  Creator,  for  the  employment  of  my 
powers,  my  time,  and  my  advantages. 
Then  alone  I  can  look  with  an  eye  of  sat- 


Love  of  Labor,  85 

isfaction,  at  the  close  of  each  day,  on  the 
employments  in  which  I  have  been  engag- 
ed, and  meet  with  cheerfulness,  those  of 
the  morrow  ;  and  hope  as  the  price  of  my 
labor,  for  an  abundant  harvest.  Then 
alone,  arrived  at  the  end  of  my  career,  I 
shall  be  able  to  recal  the  past  without 
confusion  and  regret ;  and  the  idea,  that 
every  day  of  my  life  has  been  marked  by 
some  good  action,  by  some  virtuous  ef- 
fort, shall  fill  me  with  joy  in  the  arms  of 
death. 

Yes,  Oh  my  God,  I  revere  and  adore 
thy  wisdom  and  goodness  in  the  natural  and 
moral  disposition  of  things.  I  perceive, 
and  I  am  convinced  how  indispensable  is 
the  obligation  I  am  under  to  lead  an  active 
ana  laborious  life,  and  faithfully  to  falfi! 
the  duties  of  my  station.  May  I  never 
forget  this  obligation,  and  endeavor  every 
day  of  my  life  more  punctually  to  dis- 
charge it.  ' 

H 


86        *       Exercises  of  Flcty. 

All  my  faculties,  all  my  powers,  O  God, 
all  my  abilities,  all  the  means  of  service  I 
possess,  are  the  gifts  of  thy  bounty,  are  tal- 
ents which  Thou  hast  entrusted  to  my  im- 
provement. At  the  last  day  I  shall  be  o- 
bliged  to  give  an  account  of  the  use  I  have 
made  of  them. 

Thou,  who  art  the  sovereign  disposer  of 
all  things,  hast  placed  me  in  my  present 
station.  Thou  hast  entrusted  me  with; 
certain  offices  relative  to  the  happiness  of 
thy  children  on  earth.  And  shall  I  not  be 
heartily  concerned  worthily  to  fill  my 
place,  to  contribute  all  in  my  power  to  the 
well  being  of  thy  great  family,  of  which  1 
am  a  member  ?  i 

Thou  hast  connected  me  with  my  breth- 
ren, by  an  infinite  variety  of  ties.  I  can- ' 
not  do  without  their  assistance.  Every 
day  they  perform  for  me  the  most  im- 
portant services,  and  shall  I  confine  myself 
to  receiving  and  enjoying,  without  making 
any  return  ?  I  could  not  live  but  by  char- 


Lo'oe  of  Labor.  87 

ity,  and  shall  i  repay  my  benefactors  with 
uigratitude  ? 

Indolence  and  sloth  will  only  increase 
the  burdens  of  my  employment,  and  ren- 
der them  more  troublesome  and  difficult. 
My  power  will  decrease,  and  my  faculties 
be  impaired,  in  proportion  as  I  neglect  to 
use  them. 

What  shame,  what  remorse,  what  pun- 
ishment does  not  the  indolent  man  pre- 
pare for  himself  at  the  close  of  every  day, 
at  the  close  of  every  year,  and,  above  all, 
at  the  close  of  a  life  entirely'spent  in  trif- 
ling occupations,  and  lost  beyond  retrieve  I 
After  having  sown  so  little,  after  having 
sov/n  nothing  but  bad  grain,  what  harvest 
can  be  expected  !  And  if  I  have  been  the 
parent  of  a  family,  what  a  wretched  exam- 
ple have  I  set  to  my  children  and  servants, 
by  my  dislike  of  labor,  or  my  carelessness 
in  going  through  it.  Those  who  surround 
me  are  more  or  less  influenced  by  my  con- 


83  Exercises  of  Piety, 

duct,  and  will  find  in  my  faults  a  pretext 
to  justify  their  own. 

Can  inactivity  and  idleness  be  consist- 
ent v/ith  love  to  God  and  men  ?  Are  tliey 
consistent  with  the  character  of  a  Chris- 
tian, who  takes  a  lively  interest  in  the  hap- 
piness of  others,  who  loves  to  labor,  to 
suffer  and  even  to  sacrifice  himself  for 
them — of  a  Christian,  who  ought  not  to 
content  himself  vvith  a  conduct  merely  cx- 
em.pt  from  crimes,  or  a  common  virtue 
but  who  .  ought  to  distinguish  himself, 
from  others,  by  the  brightness  of  his  vir- 
tue, and  to  shine  as  a  light  in  the  world — , 
of  a  Christian,  the  disciple  of  a  Master,^ 
v^'hose  meat  and  drink  it  was  to  do  the  v^'ill 
of  his  Heavenly  Father,  and  whose  conduct 
was  governed  by  this  maxim  j  ''I  miust 
work  whilst  it  is  called  today,  for  the  night 
Cometh  wherein  no  man  can  work." 

I  cannot  doubt,  therefore,  O  my  God, 
that  indclence  is  diametrically  opposite  to 
thy  will  and  designs.    It  degrades,  it  dis- 


Love  of  Labor,  89 

graces,  it  unnerves  a  man.  It  is  inconsist- 
ent with  our  own  happiness,  and  that  of 
"  others.  It  makes  us  unworthy  of  the 
name  of  reasonable  creatures,  useful  citi- 
zens, and  true  Christians. 

Far  then  from  me  be  the  disgraceful 
thouo-ht  of  indolence — the  idea  I  entertain 
of  Thee,  O  my  God  !  The  recollection  of 
my  dignity  as  a  man,  and  a  Christian — the 
remembrance  of  what  I  owe  to  Thee,  and 
to  my  brethren,  all  unite  to  engage  me  to 
lead  an  active  and  industrious  life,  to  em- 
ploy my  abilities  in  a  manner  the  most 
useful  to  others,  and  the  most  honorable 
to  myself.  Oh  my  God  !  Impress  these 
thoughts  deeply  in  my  heart;  may  these 
motives  frequently  present  themselves  to 
my  mind,  and  duly  influence  my  conduct 
every  day  of  my  life. 


H  2 


THE  SAFEST  RULE  LV  THE  CONDUCT  OF 
LIFE, 


What  is  the  wisest  use  I  can 
make  of  the  present  life  ?  What  road 
oun;ht  i  to  pursue,  in  order  most  safely  to 
attain  the  end  cf  ray  existence  ?  How  can 
I  most  successrully  prepare  myself  for  a 
more  perfect  and  happy  state  afcer  death  ? 
How  diiTcrait  are  the  paths  in  which  men 
walk  !  lie  vv  opposite  and  contradictory 
are  the  maAims  they  adopt,  and  the  ends 
they  propose  to  themselves  !  Nothing  is 
more  common  than  to  see  them  wander- 
ing into  forbidden  paths,  and  failing  of 
the  end  ihev  have  in  view  !  To  avoid  fall- 
inj^into  ibcsame  mistakes,  I needasureand 
safe  rule  which  I  may  follow  without  dan- 
ger, and  an  enlightened  guide  in  whom 
I  m^ay  entirely  confide.  But  where  shall 
I  find  either  the  one  or  the  other,  unless  in 
the  heavenly  doctrine  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  and  the  example  which  he  hath  left 


Rule  of  Life.  9i 

us.  Yes,  He  is  the  way,  the  truth,  and 
the  life.  To  him  we  must  continually 
look,  after  him  we  must  frame  our  lives ; 
to  his  voice  wc  must  be  attentive  and  obe- 
dient, and  in  his  steps  we  must  tread. 
Whoever  follows  him  with  sincerity  an.d 
perseverance  cannot  go  astray  ;  but  will 
finally  attain  the  highest  degree  of  perfec- 
tion of  which  he  is  capable..  Mav  it  be  mv 
endeavor  to  become  every  day  more  like 
him,  conformed  to  his  example,  and  obe- 
I  dient  to  his  precepts  ! 

Grant  me,  O  Merciful  God,  thine  as- 
sistance, and  the  aids  of  that  spirit  which 
Thou  didst  shed  so  abundantly  on  thy  well 
beloved  Son.  Thus  supported  and  pro- 
tected, I  shall  surmount  the  greatest  diiR- 
culties,  and  shall  find  my  greatest  happi- 
ness and  glory  in  the  practice  of  virtue, 
and  the  progress  of  holiness. . 

f. 


EXERCISES  OF  PIETY, 

SUITED  TO   THE  SEVERAL   RELATIONS   OF  DOMESTIC 
AND  CIVIL  LIFE. 

INTRODUCTORY  REMARK. 

The  duties  of  social  life  are  an  iai- 
portant  subject,  en  v;hich  the  enlightened 
and  virtuous  Christian  will  reflect  with  the 
closest  attention,  because  that  the  just  dis- 
charge of  these  mutual  obligations,  which 
in  every  age  of  the  world  have  been  held  sac- 
red, is  absolutely  necessary  to  personal  in^ 
tegrity,  to  the  peace  and  order  of  families, 
thestrength  of  civilcommunities,thedigni-i 
ty,  improvement,  and  welfare  of  mankind. 

In  reflecting  on  the  various  duties  of 
social  life,  it  is  proper  to  begin  with  those 
of  the  married  state,  because  this  was  ac- 
V  tually  the  first  relation  contracted,  the  first 
special  tie  and  bond  of  union  established 
in  human  life.  It  is  the  root  of  all  others, 
and  has  therefore,  if  we  follow  nature,  a 
claim  to  our  chief  attention  and  regard. 


FOR  A  MARRIED  PERSON. 


It  is  Thou,  O  God,  v/ho  hast  in- 
stituted marriage,  that  mankind,  by  this 
means,  may  falfil  thy  designs  on  earth, 
and  cont  ibute  to  the  happines  of  each 
other.  He  who  without  sufficient  reasons, 
or  with  criminal  intentions  refuses  to  en- 
ter into  this  states  he  who  seeks  to  grat- 
ify his  desires  out  of  wedlock,  manifestly 
opposes  thy  will,  and  neglects  to  fulfil  his 
destination  upon  earth.    He  is  a  rebel- 
lious subject  of  thy  government,  an  ene- 
my to  human  life  and  happiness.  This 
institution  is  assuredly  one  of  those  which 
bears  the  plainest  marks  of  thy  wisdom 
and  benevolence.     What  connexion  is 
there  which  more  closely  unites  the  hu- 
man race,  and  more  powerfully  engages 
them  to  blend  their  interests  and  their 
views,  to  participate  in  each  othei's  anxie- 
ties and  cares  ? — What  is  there  that  more 
exalts,  ennobles,  andmultiplies  their  earth- 


54  Exercises  of  Piety, 

ly  existence  ? — What  is  there  which  fur- 
nishes them  with  stronger  motives  to  ex- 
ercise and  unfold  their  faculties  and  tal- 
ents, and  to  discharge  wnth  unwearied  zeal 
the  duties  of  their  station  ?  What  is  there 
which  more   strongly  attaches  them  to 
civil  society,  and  makes  them  take  a  more 
lively  and  active  interest  in  its  happiness  ? 
— What  is  there  that  promises  more  sup- 
port and  consolation  in  old  age  3  what 
opens  more  diversified  sources  of  pleasur 
and  joy,  and  raises  more  delightful  hopes, 
with  respect  to  the  future,  than  the  sa 
cred  and  honorable  state  of  marriage  ? 

Yes — this  shall  always  be  to  me  a  sa- 
cred relation.  I  will  endeavor  faithful-' 
ly  to  discharge  all  its  duties,  and  cheerful- 
ly submit  to  any  selfdenials  it  may  render 
necessary.  Far  from  being  ashamed  of 
the  nuptial  tie,  or  speaking  of  it  with  rail- 
lery, and  a  blameable  levity— far  from 
blushing  at  the  sentiments  of  esteem  and 
tenderness  with  which  it  inspires  me  for 


Married  Persons,  95 

the  person  with  whom  I  am  united,  I  will 
make  it  my  boast  and  my  pride  to  cherish 
and  love  that  person  as  another  self,  and 
will  never  lose  sight  of  the  intimate  rela- 
tions w^hich  subsist  between  us^  nor  of  the 
duties  which  arise  from  them.  Far  from 
choosing  the  state  of  marriage  only  that  I 
may  enjoy  greater  liberty  and  independ- 
ence, far  from  being  directed  in  my  choice 
I  by  external  advantages  only,  such  as  afflu- 
ence and  rank,  as  if  the  q  ualities  of  the  mind 
and  the  virtues  of  the  heart,  which  are  the 
most  fruitful  sources  of  domestic  happiness 
w^ere  indifferent  to  me  ^  I  will  pay  the 
principal  attention  to  the  moral  charac- 
ter, a  sound  judgment,  a  tender,  virtuous, 
and  pious  heart,  as  the  most  solid  founda- 
tiorv  of  conjugal  felicity,  and  wall  prefer 
these  advantages  to  all  the  lustre  of  exter- 
nals. 

Instead  of  suffering  myself  to  be  led 
astray  by  ambition,  avarice,  the  love  of 
ease  and  luxurv,  so  as  to  lose  si[;htof  the 


§5  Exercises  of  Piety. 

chief  end  of  marriage,  and  to  consider 
children,  which  are  its  most  precious 
fruits^  as  a  burden,  I  will,  on  the  contrary, 
believe,  that  the  more  creatures  there  are 
susceptible  of  happiness,  who  by  my  means 
are  brought  into  existence,  and  whom  I 
have  led  into  the  read  to  felicity,  the 
better  I  have  answered  my  design  on  earth, 
and  the  more  thankful  shall  I  be  for  hav- 
ing lived  here  belovv^.    Far  from  expect- 
ing to  find  nothing  but  what  is  agreeable 
and  delightful  in  this  connexion,  I  will 
never  forget,  that  its  pleasures  are  indis- 
soiubly  joined  v/ith  the  tenderest  anxieties 
and  cares    and  that  it  is  only  by  a  volmw 
tary  subjection  to  the  latter,  and  bear* 
ing  them  v/ith  p^atience,  that  I  can  hope 
to  taste  the  former,  v/ithout  shame  anc| 
remorse,  and  enjoy  them  in  ail  their  extenfl 
The  more  diversified  and  intimate  tfe 
ties  by  which  marriage  unites  me  to  ray 
partner,  to  my  family,  and  to  society,  the* 
more  zealous  and  active  shall  I  be  for 


Married  Persons,  97 

the  personal  and. general  good  of  those  to 
whom  I  am  related,  and  the  more  ambi- 
tious shall  I  be  to  discharge  the  duties  of 
my  station.  There  is  no  kind  of  labor, 
application,  and  care,  how  burdensome  or 
easy  soever  I  may  find  it,  how  great  or 
how  trifling  soever  be  its  object,  which 
ought  not  to  appear  important  and  sacred 
whilst  it  is  capable  of  contributing  to  the 
.happiness  of  those  with  whom  I  am  con- 
nected. My  desire  and  endeavor  shall  not 
be  to  make  a  figure  in  the  great  world, 
but  to  become  useful  in  the  small  circle 
in  w^hich  I  am  placed,  and  to  taste  the 
pure  and  tranquil  happiness  of  domestic 
life.  If  no  one  ought  to  think,  act  and 
live  for  himself  alone,  how  much  less 
should  the  person  who  lives  in  the  conju- 
gal union  ?  If  he  be  acquainted  v/ith  his 
obligations,  he  will  share  the  blessings  and 
^  afflictions  of  life  with  the  person  to  whom 
?  he  is  united.  He  will  always  open  his 
heart  to  her,  and  communicate  all  his  sen- 


98  Exercises  of  Piety. 

timents.    He  will  endeavor  to  ease  her 
cares,  to  lessen  her  troubles,  and  avoid,  as 
far  as  possible,  any  occasion  of  discontent 
and  chagrin.  Neither  of  them  can  be  con- 
tented or  discontented,  happy  or  unhappy, 
without  the  other  in  some  degree  partakes. 
Mutual  confidence  will  be  attended  with 
the  most  beneficial  effects.    A  suspicious 
disposition  is  the  bane  of  all  domestic  bliss. 
It  is  that  poisonous  leaven  which  infects 
every  comfort  of  life,  and  converts  the  cup 
of  happiness  into  a  cup  of  poison,  bitter 
as  the  wormwood  and  the  gall.    Far  be 
from  me,  then,  every  illiberal  suspicion. 
I  have-  received  a  wife  to  be  my  partner 
till  death.  She  has  left  her  father's  shelter, 
and  her  mother's  love,  and  trusted  herself  to 
mine.   For  the  confidence  she  has  reposed 
in  my  faith,  shall  I  show  her  none  ?  Shall  I 
wantonly  grieve  a  bosom,  that  has  no  oth- 
er receptacle  for  its  ovv'n  grief  but  mine. 

Marriage  makes  it  our  duty  to  endeav- 
or to  correct  each  other's  faults,  and  to 


Married  Pvrsons. 


99 


make  the  road  of  virtue  more  smooth  and 
easy  to  each  other ;  and  this  is  another 
source  of  comfort  which  it  opens  to  us.— 
Of  what  efficacy  ought  not  the  examples, 
the  advice,  the  exhortations  and  prayers, 
to  be,  between  persons  so  closely  united, 
and  filled  with  esteem  and  love  for  each 
other  ? — should  aetiis  guides  and  sup- 
ports to  each  other,  to  warn  one  another, 
'with  the  tenderest  anxiety,  of  the  dangers 
which  threaten  3  to  assist  each  other  in  o- 
vercoming  temptations,  and  to  encourage 
each  other  in  a  course  of  piety  and  vir-- 
tue. 

May  my  partner  and  myself  never  for- 
get, that  it  was  before  Thee,  O  my  God, 
that  we  first  promised  to  be  constant,  kind 
and  true  3  that  the  vows  then  entered  into 
are  not  to  be  sported  with,  nor  their  obli- 
gation profanely  cast  av^ay.  A  persua- 
sion of  this  is  the  firmest  bulwark  of  vir- 
tue, and  the  surest  foundation  of  mutual 
happiness. 


100  Exercises  of  Piety » 

May  we  never  neglect  to  pray  for  thy 
blessing  on  our  mutual  connexion.  Unit- 
ed together,  in  mutual  affection,  to  pour 
out  our  common  prayer,  as  the  offering 
of  one  heart  before  Thee,  who  art  Love 
itself,  and  the  Rewarder  of  those  that  love 
Thee,  is  surely  the  highest  circumstance  of 
satisfaction  which  the  wise  can  fancy,  or 
the  good  can  realize.  Assisted  by  one  an- 
others  virtue,  our  good  dispositions  will 
be  confirmed  5  and,  Vvhere  life,  in  other 
circumstances,  would  be  a  burden,  it  v/ill 
not  be  felt,  as  divided  between  us.  We 
shall  pass  through  life,  blessing  and  blest 
and  meet  again,  in  another  world,  never 
to  aeparate,  or  to  die  any  more. 


FOR  A  PARENT, 


O  GOD,  the  Creator  of  all  men, 
and  the  source  of  all  happiness..  Thou 
^makest  use  of  thy  creatures  as  the  instru 
ment  by  whom  thou  communicatest  thy 
gifts,  and  even  life  itself,  to  other  beings 
of  the  same  species  5  and  by  this  plan  thou 
makest  them  partakers  of  thy  supreme  fe- 
licity, in  the  divine  and  heavenly  pleasures 
'  of  making  others  happy. 

Thou  hast  permitted  me  to  taste  of  this 
happiness.  Thou  hast  given  mz  chil- 
dren, and  committed  them  to  my  direction 
and  care.'  What  a  valuable  present  of  thy 
bounty !  What  an  abundant  source  of 
pleasure  and  joy  for  me  !  Thou  hast  im- 
planted in  me  the  tenderest  alfectioa  to 
my  feeble  offspring.  Thou  hast  made  me 
as  feelingly  alive  to  their  pleasures  and 
pains  as  to  my  ov^n.  Thou  hast  not  left 
my  children  dependent  on  the  cool  dictates 
of  reason,  but  hast  urged  me  to  the  full 
I  2 


102  Exercises  of  Piety, 

discharge  of  my  duty  by  the  stimulations 
of  an  instinct  more  speedy  and  forcible  in 
its  operations  than  any  deliberate  argu- 
ments could  possibly  be.  Thou  hast  en- 
gaged and  animated  me  to  do  them  all  the 
good  in  my  pov/er  by  every  feeling  of  the 
lieart.  This  affection  which  burns  with- 
in me  is  a  spark  of  that  love  which  thou 
bearest  to  all  thy  creatures.  But  this  pa- 
rental affection  ought  to  be,  like  thine,  a 
Vvdse  and  enlightened  principle.  Its  object 
should  be,  not  an  external  and  morr.enta- 
ry  happiness,  but  a  true  and  permanent 
felicity. 

It  is  not  merely  to  the  subsistence  of  my; 
children,  to  the  growth  and  shape  of  thei 
bodies,  that  I  would  devote  my  chief  at- 
tention, butj  principally,  to  the  culture  of 
their  minds  and  hearts.  It  is  my  duty  to 
form  them  to  rational  men,  sincere  Christ- 
ians, useful  members  of  society,  affection- 
ate husbands  and  wives,  tender  parents, 
good  masters,  faithful  friends,  and  virtu- 


Parents,  103 

I  ous  citizens.    It  is  my  duty  to  teach  them 
I  to  love  their  Creator  above  all,  to  love 
their  fellowcreatures  as  their  brethren, 
I  and  to  rejdice  in  the  persuasion  that  thou 
,  art  our  common  Father.    I  should  form 
,  them  not  only  for  time,  but  for  eternity. 
I     This  is  one  of  the  most  noble  and  hen- 
orable  employments,  one  of  the  rSiost  im- 
portant and  delightful  duties  which  Thou 
hast  required  of  me.   I  will  sacrifice  every 
thing  the  flattering  pleasures  and  the  sv/eet- 
est  enjoyments  of  life,  to  this  important 
task.    No  age,  no  state,  no  other  relation 
of  life  can  set  me  free  from  so  sacred  an 
oblio-ation.    It  is  jnx'self  w-ho  must  dis- 
charge  it  ^  and  I  cannot,  either  wholly  or 
in  part,  make  over  this  duty  to  another  3 
since  it  is  impossible  that  an  hireling  should 
feel  the  same  sentiments  which  animate  the 
breast  of  a  parent,  and  should  be  suscepti- 
ble of  the  same  zeal  and  the  same  patience, 
j  If  I  am  obliged  to  have  recourse,  in  this 
I  important  office;  to  the  assistance  and  tal- 


lO'i  Exercises  of  Piety, 

ents  of  others,  they  can  act  only  under 
my  direction,  and  as  workers  logethc 
with  me. 

This  duty  is  undoubtedly  difficult  and 
laborious  3  but  if,  by  thine  assistance,  O 
my  God,  I  acquit  myself  with  success, 
what  a^  train  of  pleasures  and  advantages 
will  res\i!t  from  it  to  myself  and  society. 

To  guide  feeble  and  ignorant  creatures 
in  the  road  to  happiness  ^  to  teach  them 
to  make  a  good  use  of  their  powers ;  to 
contribute  to  the  unfolding  of  the  facul- 
ties and  dispositions  with  which  they  are 
endued  3  to  guard  innocent  beings  from 
error,  vice  and  misery,  who  are  exposed  to 
•^a  thousand  dangers  and  temptations  3  to 
throw  the  seeds  of  truth,  wisdom  and  vir- 
tue into  their  young  minds,  as  yet  open 
to  every  impression  3  to  cherish  and 
strengthen  more  and  more  the  good  dispo- 
sitions which  begin  to  spring  up  in  them  3 
to  bring  them  acquainted  with  the  design 
of  their  being,  both  present  and  future  3 


Parents,  105 

I  to  Iceep  them  at  a  distance  from  the  pois- 
jonous  sources  of  vice  and  folly,  and  to 
open  to  them  those  oi  wisdom,  content- 
ment, and  joy  ;  to  fit  them  for  acting  their 
part  on  the  great  theatre  of  the  world,  with 
credit  to  themselves  and  satisfaction  to 
their  fellowcreatures.^ — What  a  noble  and 
sublime  employment  !  Vv'hat  a  recom- 
pense v/ill  attend  it  in  this  world  and  ari- 
pther.  May  I  be  more  penetrated  v^^ith  a 
sense  of  its  dignity  and  importance,  that  I 
may  acquit  myself  with  a  zeal  that  shall 
ensure  its  success  ! 

Yes,  to  give  my  children  a  liberal  and 
Christian  education  shall  be  my  principal 
and  my  sweetest  occupation.  Every  thing 
animates  me  to  this  duty — nature,  religion, 
the  happiness  of  my  children,  my  own 
i  happiness,  and  that  of  society. 

Am  I  not  answerable  for  my  conduct 
with  respect  to  them,  to  the  tribunal  of 
i  my  own  conscience,  to  society,  and  to  God, 

:  who  is  the  Father  of  my  children  ?  Do 

I  •  '  . 

I 


106  Exercises  of  Piety, 

not  their  usefulness  or  unusefulness  in  the 
world  5  the  good  or  evil  they  shall  do  3 
their  happiness  or  misery,  present  or  fu- 
ture— do  they  not  depend  in  a  great  meas- 
ure on  the  education  and  cultivation  I  shall 
have  given  them  ?  May  I  not  form  tlie 
most  delightful  and  rejoicing  expectations 
with  respect  to  futurity,  if  I  have  zealously 
endeavored  to  give  them  good  instruction 
On  the  contrary,  must  I  not  expect  thei 
most  cutting  sorrow  if  I  have  neglected 
this  duty,  or  have  acquitted  myself  ill  in  it? 

What  wish  shall  I  one  day  form,  when 
death  shall  separate  me  from  them  ?  What| 
Vvdll  then  console  me,  and  enable  me  to  go 
v/ith  tranquillity  into  the  state  of  retribu- 
tion v\^hich  awaits  me  in  another  world  ?, 
V/ill  it  satisfy  me  to  think  that  my  child-' 
ren  are  sufliciently  advanced  to  do  without 
me  s  that  I  leave  them  a  decent  patrimony, 
or  even  considerable  riches ,  that  they  are 
allied  to  opulent  families  ^  that  I  have 
laid  the  foundation  of  their  advancement  \ 


Parents^  107 

that  I  have  smoothed  the  way  to  import- 
ant ofHces,  dignities  and  fortune  ?  Will 
all  this  make  me  easy  respecting  their  fu- 
itiire  lot,  and  give  me  the  consoling  hope 
.of  meeting  them  again  in  the  mansions  of 
ieternal  felicity  ?  When  the  splendor  and 
pomp  of  this  world  shall  vanish  from  my 
sight,  what  shall  I  then  wish  with  the 
greatest  anxiety  ?  Will  it  not  be  that  my 
cliildren  may  be  wise  and  virtuous  men, 
and  good  Christians  ;  and  that  they  may 
persevere  in  the  path  of  wisdom  and  vir- 
tue ?  In  my  last  moments  it  will  little 
:oncern  me  whether  they  be  in  other  i*e- 
ppects  rich  or  poor,  elevated  to  the  pinna- 
cle of  greatness,  or  lost  in  obscurity. — 
With  v/hat  tranquillity  shall  I  then  be  a- 
jle  to  separate  from  them,  and  leave  them 
nder  the  direction  of  their  Heavenly  Fa- 
;her  i  And  shall  I  not  at  present  aspire, 
Siall  I  not  incessantly  strive  to  obtain  this 
.  j^d  ?  Shall  I  not  do  all  in  my  povver  to 
ttain  it,  and  to  procure  for  myself  so 


108  Exercises  of  Play.  % 

delightful  a  satisfaction  on  the  bed  or 
death  ? 

It  is  true  the  most  careful  education 
will  not  always  succeed.    The  most  pre- 
cious seed  may  be  choked  by  bad  exam- 
ples, by  the  seduction  of  the  corrupters  o[ 
youth,  or  by  the  dominion  of  sensual  ap- 
petites and  irregular  passions.  All  my  at-  j 
tention  and  care  may  be  useless;  butj 
such  instances  are  not  frequent.    Seldom  i 
does  it  happen  that  he  who  interests  him-j 
self  in  the  education  of  his  children  with 
a  truly  enlightened,  active  and  indefatiga- 
ble zeal  is  put  to  so  painful  a  trial.    Th(  t 
fruits  of  his  labors  may  not  often  discovei  ^ 
themselves  till  late  if  he  do  not  live  t(  ; 
reap  the  fruits  himself,  they  m^ay,  never  i 
theless,  one  day  comiC  to  m.aturity.  Be 
sides,  when  I  have  given  up  all  my  atten 
tion  to  the  education  of  my  children,  I  hav 
nothing  with  which  to  reproach  mysel! 
even  though  it  shall  have  been  of  no  us< 
In  this  case  I  am  not  the  author  of  thei  i 


Parents,  109 

misery ;  I  have  net  contributed  to  it. — 
How  great  soever  it  may  be,  I  ought  not 
to  consider  it  as  a  punishment  upon  me, 
but  as  a  disaster  I  could  not  possibly  pre- 
vent. 

Preserve  me,  O  my  God,  if  it  may  be, 
from  this  greatest  of  all  distress.  Gracious 
God  !  Thou  seest  my  beating,  trembling 
heart  s  hear  the  prayer  of  a  parent !  Pro- 
tect the  feeble  creatures  Thou  hast  com- 
I  mitted  to  my  care  !  Surfer  them  not  to 
I  become  the  deplorable  victims  of  debauch- 
ery and  vice.  Uphold  and  direct  them, 
that  they  may  never  go  astray  and  be  lost. 
Make  their  path  strait  before  them, — 
Support  them  in  the  way  of  life  ^  and  let 
innocence,  truth,  virtue  and  piety  always 
accompany  and  preserve  them.  Let  them 
be  heirs  of  unfading  glory  j  let  them  be 
safe  through  eternity.  O  that  my  chil- 
dren may  be  heirs  of  God,  ana  joint  heirs 
of  jesiis  Christ !  Should  they  be  scon  re- 
moved hence,  may  it  be  into  Abraham's 

K 


liO  Exercises  of  Piety, 

bosom  ;  or  should  they  longer  be  contin- 
ued here,  may  they  be  gathered  at  last,  as 
a  shock  of  corn,  into  the  celestial  garner. 

Give  thy  blessing  upon  all  !  have  under- 
taken with  this  view,  and  on  whatever  I 
shall  hereafter  undertake.  If  my  feeble 
efforts  are  ill  directed,  they  are  at  least  sin- 
cere. Supply  my  deficiencies,  and  grant 
me  Oh  my  God  i  more  light  and  knowl- 
edge, that  I  may  choose  the  best  means, 
and  not  be  discouraged  in  the  discharge 
of  my  important  duty.  Happy,  inex- 
pressibly happy,  shall  I  be,  if  at  the  hour 
of  death,  and  in  the  day  of  judgment,  I 
may  be  reunited  to  my  children,  never 
more  to  be  separated ;  and  be  able  to  say , 
in  the  transports  of  joy,  "Behold  me, 
Lord,  and  the  children  thou  hast  given  me. 
They  have  like  me,  happily  finished  their 
course  ;  they  have  kept  the  faith,  and  per- 
severed in  their  obedience  ;  and  now  they 
humbly  wait,  with  me,  for  the  recompense 


Parenis,  111 

which  Thou  hast  promised  to  those  who 
have  been  faithful  unto  death." 

With  a  view  to  all  these  blessings  would 
I  bring  them,  in  the  arms  of  faith  and 
love,  to  the  divine  footstool,  and  resign 
them  to  the  disposal  of  Infinite  Goodness 
and  Mercy.  To  that  kind  and  gracious 
God  who  gave  them  would  I  humbly  com- 
mit them,  to  be  guarded  by  thy  Provi- 
dence, ministered  to  by  thine  angels,  in- 
fluenced by  thy  Spirit,  conducted  safely 
through  the  dangers  and  evils  of  this 
world,  and  preserved  to  thy  everlasting 
kit}:^dom  in  the  other. 


FOR  A  CHILD. 


In  what  a  state  of  weakness  and  de- 
pendence, O  my  God,  are  the  children  of 
men  born  !  When  they  come  into  the 
W'Orld  they  are  much  more  feeble,  much 
more  dependent,  much  m.ore  exposed  to 
danpiers  than  the  most  senseless  animals. 
It  is  but  slowly,  and  very  late  that  they  ac- 
quire sufficient  strength  to  stand  alone, 
without  the  assistance  of  their  parents. 

But  this  arrangement  is  the  effect  of  thy 
paternal  bounty.  Thou  intendest  we 
should  be  raised  above  the  brute  creation, 
and  become  intelligent  and  moral  beings. 
But  such  v/e  cannot  become  but  by  a  con- 
stant intercourse,  and  the  daily  instructions 

of  oersons  better  informed  than  ourselves. 

J, 

And  it  is  in  order  that  we  may  enjoy  this 
society  and  instruction,  that  Thou  hast  so 
closely  united  us  to  beings  of  the  same  na- 
ture with  ourselves,  and  placed  us  in  such 
a  state  of  dependence  on  one  another. 


Children.  113 

I  revere  thy  will,  O  my  God  and  I 
return  Thee  thanks  for  the  ties  which  u- 
nite  me  to  my  parents,  and  all  the  advan- 
tages I  derive  from  it. 

Yes,  I  perceive  how  feeble  and  depend- 
ent I  am,  and  desire  to  think  and  act  ac- 
cordingly. Happy  shall  I  think  myself,  if 
filled  with  love  and  gratitude  to  my  par- 
ents, I  fulfil  my  obligations  to  them  witlv 
a  tractable  and  joyful  heart. 

How  great  are  my  obligations  to  them  ! 
What  should  I  do  without  them  ?  Sur- 
rounded from  my  birth  with  ten  thous- 
and dangers,  I  should  probably  not  have 
escaped  any  one  of  them,  if  the  supporting 
and  watchful  hand  of  a  father,  or  a  moth- 
er, or  of  persons  who  supplied  their  place, 
had  not  protected  and  snatched  me  from 
the  dangers  which  threatened  me.  Expos- 
ed to  a  thousand  wants,  without  the  pow- 
er of  supplying  them  ;  a  prey  to  hunger 
and  thirst,  to  cold  and  heat,  to  sorrow  and 
disease,  I  should  have  fallen  a  victim  to  all 

K  2 


114  Exercises  of  Piety. 

these  evils  had  it  not  been  for  the  assiduous 
attention  of  those  who  were  around  me, 
and  their  care  to  supply  my  want  of 
knowledge  and  of  strength.  For  how 
long  a  time  hath  this  state  of  weakness  and 
dependence  (in  which  I  still  in  a  great  de- 
gree find  myself)  continued  ?  A  stranger 
to  every  thing,  the  least  thing  fills  me  with 
fear  and  trouble.  My  mind,  as  feeble  as- 
my  body,  falters  at  every  step,  falls  into  a 
thousand  errors,  and,,  dazzled  by  a  false 
lustre,  suffers  itself  to  be  easily  led  astrrry 
by  vain  appearances.  I  have  not  yet  ac- 
quired sufficient  experience  to  confide  en- 
tirely in  myself.  Today  I  judge  totally 
different  of  men  and  things  from  what  I 
did  yesterday.  Knowing  but  little  of  the 
design  of  my  being,  and  the  means  of  at- 
taining it,  I  cannot  yet  tread  with  a  firm 
and  steady  foot  in  the  path  of  life.  How 
much  do  I  need  an  enlightened  and  faith-  i 
ful  STuide  r  Without  such  a  director  I  run 
the  riscjue  of  straying  into  a  thousand  ob- 


Children.  115 

scare  bypaths,  the  victim  of  every  im- 
postor who  wishes  to  abuse  my  credulity, 
and  the  sport  of  every  accident. 

But  who  amongst  mankind  will  guide 
me  with  more  kindness,  prudence,  and  cir- 
cumspection than  a  father  or  a  mother  ? 
My  parents  are  the  first  and  surest  guides 
I  can  have  in  the  journey  of  life,  which  is 
to  me  at  present  an  unknown  road.  They 

will  give  me  the  benefit  of  their  experience, 
light  and  strength.  They  vv^ill  warn  me 
of  the  dangers  I  run,  and  remove  the  obsta- 
cles that  lie  in  my  way.    They  v;ill  teach 

1  me  to  distinguish  reality  from  appearance, 
and  to  form  a  right  judgment  of  mankind 
and  the  objects  around  me.  They  will 
raise  me  when  I  fall,  and  encourage  my 
trembling  steps.  They  will  lead  me  in- 
sensibly to  wisdom  and  virtue,  to  the 
knowledge  of  God  and  religion,  which  they 
will  teach  me  to  study  and  to.  follow,  as 

]  the  noblest  and  most  friendly  guides  to 


116  Exercises  of  Piety. 

man,  the  most  faithful  and  the  surest  con- 
ductors to  happiness. 

How  great  then  are  my  obhgations  to 
my  parents  !  How  can  I  ever  acquit  my- 
self to  them,  and  sufficiently  acknowledge 
my  gratitude  !  How  much  have  my  mahi- 
tenance,  my  early  education,  and  the  im- 
provement of  my  mind  already  cost  them  ; 
and  how  much  anxiety,  pain  and  labor 
have  I  not  occasioned  them  !  How  many 
convenienciesand  pleasures,  and  accommo- 
dations have  they  not  given  up  on  my  ac- 
count !  How  many  tears  have  I  made 
them  shed  for  me  !  How  much  disap- 
pointment and  distress  have  they  experiJ 
enced  for  me  !  How  much  more  have  they 
watched,  labored,  and  lived  for  me,  than 
for  themselves !  | 

And  have  I  never  made  a  perverse  re- 
turn for  their  love  ?  Have  I  never  repaid 
their  kindness  with  ingratitude  ?  Yet  they 
have  never  ceased  to  give  me  new  proofs 


Children. 


117 


of  their  tenderness,  and  never  ceased  to 
labor  for  my  happiness. 

Alas  !  It  is  now  I  see  my  faults.  The 
idea  of  having  occasioned  them  anxiety  and 
mortification,  and  of  having  grieved  their 
I  Jiearts,  afflicts  and  tears  my  own.  I  am  a- 
shamed  that  by  obstinacy  and  disobedience 
'  I  have  hindered  their  good  intentions  in 
fny  behalf,  and  failed  in  my  duty  to  them. 

I  will  try  in  future  to  repair  these  faults, 
and  to  give  them  only  satisfaction.  To 
this  my  best  endeavors  shall  be  directed. 
.Filial  piety  shall  direct  and  animate  all  my 
conduct.    I  will  say  and  do  nothing  that 
shall  displease  them.    I  will  make  it  my 
greatest  pleasure  to  obey  them,  to  afford 
I  them  every  service  and  assistance  in  my 
^  power,  and  to  become  their  consolation 
;  and  their  joy.    I  will  give  myself  up  sin- 
I  cerely  to  their  direction,  instantly  obey 
their  commands,  and,  if  possible,  even  an- 
ticipate their  wishes.    The  end  to  which 
I  will  direct  all  my  efforts  shall  be  to  make 


118  Exercises  of  Piety. 

a  good  use  of  all  the  means  of  instructioiv^ 
they  procure  me,  that  I  may  become  mor  J 
intelligent  and  wise,  and  hereby  make  thi 
best  return  in  my  power  for  all  their  kind^ 
ness.  Thus  will  I  endeavor  to  lighten, 
their  burdens,  relieve  their  cares,  and  re<- 
joice  their  hearts  with  the  pleasing  hope 
that  their  labor  has  not  been  in  vain. 

Preserve  me,  Oh  Merciful  God,  from 
the  levity  and  inconstancy  of  my  age.  Let 
the  idea  of  thy  presence,  and  of  thy 
confirm  me  in  every  good  resolution  I 
have  formed,  and  do  thou  assist  me  to  ex^ 
ecutethem  v/ith  perseverance  and  fidelity  fl 


TO  YOUTH. 


How  pleasant  is  the  season  of 
youth  !  Like  the  fine  days  in  the  spring, 
j  it  composes  the  prime  of  hfe,  and  promis- 
es in  future  a  rich  harvest.  But,  alas  ! 
It  passes  away  with  the  same  rapidity,  and 
the  hopes  it  raises  are  often  as  deceitful. 
In  the  moral,  as  in  the  natural  world,  the 
finest  blossoms  do  not  always  produce  the 
fruit  we  had  reason  to  expect : 

"  Fair  is  the  bud  his  vernal  morn  brings  fortb. 
And  fostering  gales  awhile  the  nursling  fan. 
O  smile,  ye  Heavens,  serene  !  Ye  mildew^s  wan, 
Ye  blighting  whirlwinds,  spare  its  balmy  prime," 

In  vain  are  our  wishes !  Too  often,  blast- 
ed by  the  hoar  frosty  or  torn  up  by  the 
tempest,  the  fairest  buds  of  hope,  and  the 
most  promising  plants  perish,  with  the 

J  precious  seed  which  they  enclose. 

f  How  must  it  afflict  the  person,  arrived 
at  the  maturity  of  manhood,  when  he  casts 

I  his  eyes  over  the  days  of  youth,  if  they 


120  Exercises  of  Piety. 

have  flown  away  without  improvement — 
if  he  has  foohshly  consumed  them  in  tri- 
fling occupations,  or  lost  them  in  idleness. 
What  more  distressing  object  can  be  held 
up  to  the  view  of  society  than  that  of  a 
man  whose  faculties,  instead  of  being  un-  | 
folded  and  enlarged  by  exercise,  are  be-  | 
numbed  by  inactivity,  or  debilitated  or  < 
worn  out  in  the  service  of  vice  3  carrying  | 
with  him,  into  the  maturer  season,  noth-  | 
ing  but  the  disgraceful  feelings  of  weak-  I 
ness,  regret  and  remorse  ?  1 
On  the  other  hand,  What  pleasure  must 
not  a  person  experience  in  recalling  to  his  * 
mind  the  spring  of  life,  who  has  employ-  ^ 
ed  it  in  forming  his  mind  and  his  heart,  ' 
in  preparing  himself  for  useful  cccupa-l  c 
tions  ;  and  who,  having  cultivated  the  ^ 
precious  seed  which  the  Creator  has  sovv^n  i 
within  us,  can  hope  to  reap  for  himself  ^ 
and  others  the  most  excellent  fruits  ?  Kow 
delightful  is  the  sight  of  such  a  man  to  ^ 
every  sensible  and  virtuous  person  !  ^ 


ToutJu  121 

Happy  will  it  be  for  me  if  I  may  one 
day  taste  this  satisfaction,  and  procure  it 
for  my  parents  and  fellow  citizens.  Hap- 
py for  me  if  I  entertain  at  present  the  same 
,  opinion  of  the  important  design  of  youth 
',  as  I  shall  certainly  have  in  maturer  years, 
and  in  old  age,  in  the  hours  of  retirement 
and  recollection,  and  at  the  approach  of 
«•  death.    But  ah!  How  different  is  the 
\point  of  view  in  which  manhood  and  old 
age  see  the  days  of  their  youth,  from  that 
in  which  they  are  beheld  by  the  young 
.  man  himself  !  /^nd  how  much  more  likely 
to  be  just  is  their  opinion  which  is  formed 
on  their  own  experience  and  that  of  oth- 
ers !  Where  is  the  man  who  ever  repent- 
ed of  having  well  employed  his  youth  ? — 
Does  not  this  period  of  life,  when  passed 
in  piety  and  innocence,  procure  us  the 
most  valuable  advantages,  and  the  most 
noble  pleasures  ?  On  the  other  hand,  how 
many  deplore  the  loss  or  abuse  of  these 
most  favorable  days  of  their  lives,  and  bit-^ 

L 


112  Excrcisjs  of  Piety o  ' 

terly  lament  over  the  unhappy  consequen-  , 
ces  of  youthful  errors  ?  Kow  many  are  j 
there  who.  in  the  flower  of  their  lives,  are 
a  prey  to  the  infirmities  of  a  premature 
old  age,  become  incapable  of  tasting  thdj 
pleasures  and  comforts  of  domestic  life,  oj 
to  whom  these  pleasures  are  embittercdv 
and  poisoned  by  remorse  of  conscience  ? 

And  shall  not  these  lessons  and  experi- 
ences, soproper  to  instruct  and  encourage 
me,  make  me  more  wise  and  prudent  ?— 
Shall  they  not  engage  me  wisely  to  employ 
the  days  of  youth  3  to  fly  the  steps  of 
those  unfortunate  persons  whose  very  ap- 
pearance terrifies  me  1  to  proceed  with  a 
firm  and  persevering  step  in  the  path  where 
so  many  of  my  predecessors  have  reaped 
the  advantages  they  now  enjoy,  and  bj 
which  they  have  become  valuable  men; 
useful  citizens,  and  wise  and  happy  beings ; 

The  present  is  the  season  for  sowing.—  ^ 
If,  at  a  more  advanced  period,  I  wqu1( 
not  be  reduced  to  the  want  of  necessaries 


Touth.  12$. 

if  I  would  not  be  a  burden  to  myself  and 
others ;  if  I  would  gather  a  rich  and  a- 
bundant  harvest,  I  must  sow  the  good  seed, 
and  carefully  cultivate  the  ground  which 
receives  it.    I  must  adorn  my  mind  with 
wisdom,  and  my  heart  with  virtue ;  I 
must  lay  in  a  store  of  useful  knowledge, 
and  early  acquire  the  habit  of  acting  just- 
ly.    I  must  combat  my  evil  thoughts  be- 
fore they  gain  the  mastery  ;  I  must  extir- 
pate my  evil  habits  before  they  have  taken 
deep  root ;  I  must  endeavor  to  secure  the 
love  and  esteem  of  my  fellow  citizens,  by 
a  rational,  modest,  attentive,  regular  con- 
duct, that  I  may  be  able  to  depend  in  fu- 
ture on  their  protection  and  support.-— 
Youth  is  the  time  for  discipline  and  prep- 
aration ;  in  this  season  I  should  acquaint 
myself  with,  and  properly  value,  and  ex- 
ercise my  faculties  and  powers,  if  I  would 
one  day  employ  them  with  facility  and 
success  ;  I  should  acquire  the  information 
and  the  talents  for  which  I  shall  have  oc- 


i^i  Exercises  of  Piety, 

casion  in  future  life,  and  without  which 
I  shall  stumble  at  every  step,  and  find  my- 
self involved  in  a  thousand  perplexing  dif- 
ficulties. I  must  accustom  mvself  to  self 
denials  j  to  bear  contradiction  and  oppo- 
sition ;  to  endure  fatigue,  trouble,  and 
aflliction ;  to  subdue  my  passions  ;  to 
conquer  my  sensual  appetites  ;  if  I  would 
not  one  day  sink  under  the  weight  of  ev- 
ery duty  and  every  triaL 

How  important  then  is  the  present  sea-j 
son  of  life  !  Mere  wishes,  slothful  and  fee- 
ble efiforts,  will  not  suffice  to  fulfil  its  du- 
ties and  design.  It  is  only  by  persevering 
endeavors,  by  a  constant  application,  and 
by  an  unshaken  firmness,  that  I  can  attain 
the  end  which  I  propose.  But  need  I  be 
discouraged  and  alarmed  at  the  necessity 
of  diligence,  application  and  resistance  H 
Will  not  the  wages  be  proportioned  to 
the  labor,  and  the  triumph  to  the  combat  I 

Shall  I  postpone  to  an  uncertain  hereaf- 
ter that  wliich  I  can  and  ought  to  do  at 


Touth.  125 

•present  ?  Is  not  the  time  I  lose  really  lost 
-forever  ?  Has  not  every  future  period  of 
my  existence  its  particular  employment  ? 
Will  it  be  the  time  for  sowing  when  the 
season  of  gathering  shall  come,  or  for  in- 
ftruction  when  I  shall  be  called  to  make 
use  of  my  knowledge  ?  What  it  is  incum- 
bent on  me  to  do  at  this  season,  and  which 
I  neglect  because  of  its  difficulties,  will 
become  every  year  and  every  day  more  dif- 
'ficult..  Notwithstanding  the  health  and 
strength  I  enjoy  in  the  spring  of  life,  may 
I  not  lose  my  powers,  and  die  in.the  flow- 
er of  my  days  ?  And  what  doom  may  I 
expect  in  the  future  state,  if  I  have  fool- 
ishly wasted  the  prime  of  life  in  the  slave- 
ry of  irregular  passions  and  the  corruptions 
of  vice  ?  Let  me  watch  continually  over 
myself,  overall  the  secret  motions  of  my 
heart ;  let  me  not  suffer  myself  to  be  se- 
duced by  the  vain  premises  of  vice,  by  the 
charms  of  an  apparent  liberty,  or  a  treach- 
ei'ousjoy.    Wisdom  raises  her  voice  to 

L  2 


123  Exercises  of  Piety. 

tell  me  that  the  intoxication  of  sense  en- 
dures but  for  an  instant ;  that  the  enchant- 
^  ed  cop  of  luxury  shall  not  be  always  sweet 
to  my  taste  ;  that  the  pleasure  I  find  in 
drinking  it  shall  soon  vanish,  as  a  fleeting 
■dream  from  which  we  are  fearfully  awak- 
ened 5  that  the  liberty  with  which  I  am 
flattered  by  vice  is  nothing  but  the  vilest 
slavery,  and  that  all  its  joys  are  poisoned 
at  their  source.  Whereas,  no  innocent 
pleasures  which  I  forego,  from  a  principle 
of  virtue,  shall  be  lest  to  me  ;  sooner  or 
later  it  shall  be  returned  to  me  with  inter- 
est. A  train  of  pure  and  lasting  joys  shall 
recompense  me,  in  manhood  and  old  age, 
for  the  destructive  or  vain  gratifications 
which  I  have  prudently  renounced.  And 
even  when  prevented,  by  an  early  death, 
from  gathering,  in  this  world,  the  fruits 
of  a  v/cll  regulated  youth,  shall  I  not 
reap  a  prodigious  advantage  if  I  am  pre- 
pared to  enter  a  m.ore  perfect  abode,  and 
suiticiently  qualified  for  the  sublime  em- 


ToutJu  12T 

ployment  and  delicious  pleasures  which  a- 
wait  the  virtuous  in  a  future  existence  ,^ 
Yes,  O  my  God,  it  is  only  by  keeping 
thy  commandments — by  making  wisdom 
and  virtue,  reason  and  religion  his  faith- 
ful guides,  that  a  young  man  can  preserve 
his  innocence,  look  with  calmness  on  the 
beginning  of  his  course,  and  advance  near- 
er and  nearer  to  his  supreme  destination, 
O  may  these  faithful  guides  always  ac- 
company me  in  the  journey  of  life  !  Oh 
Almighty  and  most  merciful  God,  do  thou 
thyself  conduct  me,  by  thy  spirit,  in  the-, 
straight  road.  Preserve  me,  by  thy  grace, 
from  the  wanderings  of  youth,  and  the  ty- 
ranny of  passions.  Let  thy  v/ise  and  good 
Providence  remove  far  from  my  path  the 
obstacles  and  temptations  v/hich  may  oc- 
casion my  fall.  Assist  my  endeavors  to 
become  wise,  and  virtuous^  and  holy  ;  and 
accompany  them  v/ith  thy  blessing.  Place 
me  in  circumstances  favorable  to  my  im^ 
provement.    Give  me  faithful  friends  and 


I2B  Exercises  of  Piety. 

guides,  and  enable  me  to  follow  them  in 
the  paths  of  goodness. 

Thou  delightest,  Oh  God,  to  grant  the 
desires  which  flow  from  a  sincere  heart, 
and  to  second  the  efforts  of  those  who  se- 
riously aspire  after  greater  perfection. — 
Supported  and  guided  by  Thee,  I  cannot 
fail  of  attaining  in  this  world  the  design 
of  my  existence,  and  of  arriving  in  the 
^ther  at  my  supreme  end. 


A  PERSO.V  AliRiyEJ  AT  MA:\IH00D. 


It  is  rhrou^h  thy  go^daess,  Oh  my 
iGoD,  that  I  aTi  bi ought  thus  far  oa  ia 
the  journsy  of  life — assist  me  to  pursue  it 
according  to  thy  will,  and  happily  to  finish 
it»  I  am  now  arrived  at  the  middle  of 
my  coarse.  Exposed,  at  the  meridian  of 
life,  to  the  rays  of  the  burning  sun,  i  no 
longer  enjoy  the  freshness  of  the  morning. 
The  serene  days  of  infancy  and  youth  ars 
fljd  a\vay  with  all  their  playfulness  and 
thoughtless  gaiety.  More  serious  thoughts 
and  more  important  occupations,  accom- 
panied with  solicitudes  and  fears,  but  aU 
so  interm'xed  with  nobler  and  more  de- 
lightful pleasures,  have  succeeded  them.— ^ 
I  am  now  advanced  to  the  hei:>:ht  of  man- 
hood.  My  body  and  my  mind  have  at- 
tained all  the  strength  of  which  they  are 
capable.  I  am  no  w  able  to  bear  heavy 
burdens,  to  execute  toilsome  labors,  to  un- 
deitake  things  difficult  and  complicated. 


130  Exercises  of  Piety,. 

and  overcome  the  greatest  obstacles.  The 
difficuhies  and  dangers  which  terrify  the 
young  and  the  old^  need  not  discourage 
me.  The  obstacles  which  make  then 
stumble  and  fali;>  ought  not  to  stop  me  ir 
my  course. 

A  greater  activity,  more  application, 
more  unshaken  patience  and  fortitude 
these  are  the  true  characteristics  of  man 
hood ;  these  are  the  sources  from  whence 
I  must  draw  my  means  and  advantages. — 
Far  be  from  n\t  all  sloth  and  inactivity^ 
all  indulgencies  and  weakness,  and  thef 
shame  which  accompanies  an  useless  and 
effeminate  life. 

It  is  now  time  that  I  should  make  use 
of  the  knowledge  and  abilities  acquired  in 
youth.  It  is  now  that  I  should  labor  for 
society,  and  return  the  good  offices  I  have, 
for  so  long  a  time,  received  from  it.  It  is 
now  that  I  should  become  to  others,  what 
my  parents,  instructors  and  guides,  have 
teen  to  me.    The  strength  and  wellbeing 


Manhood.  131 

of  the  state  are  founded  on  the  useful  la- 
bors, and  benencicJ  undertakings  of  those 
arrived  at  maturity.  It  is  for  them  to 
take  care  of  those  members  of  society  who 
^VQ  yet  young,  feeble  and  inexperienced  ; 
land  to  procure  rest,  support  and  recom- 
penses, to  t'le  respected  old  man,  who  has 
labored  for  the  public  good.  May  no 
fcmployment,  and  no  station,  appear  to  me 
'^Sl  burden,  which  tends  to  this  end. 

May  I  never  lose  sight  of  the  difterent 
ties  which  unite  me  to  society^  as  a  father, 
vE  citizen,  a  friend,  a  child  of  God,  and  a 
Christian.  May  I  never  allow  in  myself  any 
desire,  any  undertaking,  any  discourse,  any 
actions,  inconsistent  with  these  relations, 
and  contrary  to  the  general  good.  l^Jiough 
I  make  but  a  very  small  part  of  the  society, 
though  I  occupy  but  a  single  place,  and 
that,  perhaps,  but  a  very  subordinate  one, 
-this  does  not  put  it  out  of  my  power  to 
'contribute  to  the  welfare  of  that  society  of 
which  I  am  a  member.    The  public  wel- 


'i5'2  Exercises  ef  Ficty. 

fare  caa.  only  take  place  when  each  ■ 
those  who, compose  it  worthily  Slls  his  st:> 
tion,  and  faithfully  discharires  his  ov  n 
peculiar  duties.  This  shall  be  the  olijec  t 
of  my  ardent  and  persevering  endeavors. 
J  would  perform  the  duties  of  my  tunction 
with  a  cheerful  heart,  and  disinterested 
views,  uninfluenced  by  ambition,  vanity, 
avarice,  or  the  desire  of  power  ;  but  from 
obedience  to  the  will  of  God,  from  a  prin- 
ciple  of  conscience,  from  motives  of  hu- 
manity, and  the  noble  desire  of  attaining 
the  design  of  my  present  existence,  ar;d  of 
preparing  for  niy  future  destiny.  These 
are  the  motives  which  shall  animate  me 
in  the  discharge  ot  my  duty,  and  make 
that^duty  itself  the  source  of  pleasure  and 
of  joy. 

The  course  I  have  yet  to  run  appears 
long  to  me.  1  form,  peihrps,  great  and 
extensive  schcn.es.  i  crr.ploy  njystif  in 
executing  them  witli  as  much  zeal  and 
confidence  as  if  1  were  sure  of  success.  1 


Manhood.  133 

labor  for  my  country,  for  posterity,  for  a 
distant  futurity.  I  plant,  I  build,  I  form 
enterprises,  I  enter  into  new  connexions, 
I  pursue  various  plans,  I  endeavor  to  en- 
large the  sphere  of  my  activity,  as  if  I  had 
many  ages  yet  to  live.  To  act  thus,  is 
the  will  of  thy  providence,  O  God,  which 
has  so  closely  connected  one  generation 
with  another,  and  which  prepares,  in  the 
present  time,  the  most  distant  events.  It 
is  for  Thee,  O  Thou  Sovereign  of  the 
world,  to  determine  (according  to  the 
purposes  of  thy  infinite  wisdom)  whether 
I  shall  leave  the  execution  of  them  to  an- 
other. Thou  wantest  neither  means  nor 
resources  to  attain  the  ends  Thou  propos- 
est  to  thyself.  As  for  me,  may  it  suffice 
to  acquit  myself  well  in  my  station,  and 
to  labor,  vv'ith  unceasing  application,  for 
the  public  good,  v;ithout  disquieting  my- 
iself  whether  my  life  shall  be  long  or  short; 
whether  the  success  of  my  enterprises  shall 

M 


134  Exercises  of  Piety* 

deceive  my  expectations*  or  crown  my 
wishes. 

But  whilst  my  strength,  ability,  and 
success,  answer  all  my  expectations,  let 
me  never  forget  the  frailty  of  my  nature, 
the  instability  of  worldly  good,  the  uncer- 
tainty of  all  my  schemes,  the  mortality  of 
my  body,  and  the  immortal  state  into 
which  I  must  pass. — Far  from  concentrat- 
ing all  my  affections  in  the  pleasures  of 
this  life,  I  would  never  lose  sight  of  my  su- 
preme end.    I  will  therefore  wisely  prefer 
things  invisible  and  eternal  to  those  which 
are  seen,  and  temporal  3  and  always  hold 
myself  in  readiness  to  quit  m.y  post  at  the 
call  of  providence  and  to  go  into  another 
world,  where,  through  divine  grace  I  may 
attain  all  the  improvement  of  which  I  am 
susceptible,  and  to  prepare  for  vvhich  I  was 
sent  into  the  vvorld. 


TO  OLD  AGE. 


O  MY  God,  thou  hast  given  me 
life,  and  continued  it  to  me  throucrh  a  lon^: 
series  of  years.    After  having  carried  me 
through  the  successive  stages  of  existence, 
after  conducting  and  protecting  me  in  in- 
fancy, in  youth,  and  manhood,  thou  hast 
brought  me  to  the  last  period  of  life. — 
How  great,  how  innumerable  are  the  bles- 
sings and  favors  thou  hast  heaped  upon 
me  !  O  Thou  Supreme  Good  !  With  what 
paternal  tenderness  hast  Thou  provided 
for  my  bodily  and  spiritual  wants,  from 
my  birth  to  the  present  hour  !  How  many 
sources  of  pleasure  and  delight  hast  Thou 

opened  to  me  in  civil  and  domestic  life  ! 
t. 

How  many  lessons  of  wisdom  and  virtue 
hast  Thou  given  me  !  How  many  dangers 
hast  Thou  averted  from  me  ;  from  how 
many  evils  hast  Thou  preserved  me  !  How 
many  faults  and  sins  hast  Thou  overlook- 


136  Exercises  of  Piety, 

ed  !  How  many  undertakings  and  labors 
have  I  executed  with  success,  through 
thine  assistance  ! — Thy  mercies  have  been 
renewed  to  me  every  morning  ;  every  day, 
every  hour  of  my  life,  have  I  witnessed 
thy  goodness.    Accept,  O  merciful  and 
indulgent  Father,  my  most  sincere  and 
hearty  thanks,  for  all  the  blessings  thou 
hast  heaped  upon  me,  for  all  the  support 
thou  hast  granted  me,  for  all  the  divina 
joys  thou  hast  poured  into  my  heart,  ancr 
for  all  the  afflictions  Vv'ith  which  thou  hast 
disciplined  and  benefited  me.    But  how 
can  I  sufficiently  acknowledge  and  cele- 
brate thy  merciful  kindness,  and  my  own 
unmerited  felicity  !  Blessed  be  God,  a  day 
is  approaching,  when  I  hope  distinctly  to 
recollect  all  thy  favors,  and  to  be  more 
sensible  of  their  value.   Then  will  the  re- 
membrance of  my  sufferings,  as  well  as 
my  pleasures,  aff'ord  me  joy.    I  shall  ac- 
knowledge it  was  thy  paternal  hand  which 
has  guided  me  in  the  gloomy  and  the  rug- 


Old  Age,  157 

ged,  as  well  as  in  the  bright  and  smooth 
paths  of  life,  in  order  to  conduct  me  in  the 
surest  way  to  felicity.  Every  day  of  my 
life  has  been  marked  by  some  precious 
effects  of  thy  love.  Through  thy  grace,  I 
have  been  upheld  under  the  troubles  of 
life,  discharged  its  duties,  and  tasted  its 
pleasures.  I  can  now  quit  my  post  with- 
out regret,  and  without  fear.  I  have  fin- 
ished the  work  thou  hast  given  me  to  do. 
I  have  promoted,  according  to  my  ability, 
the  happiness  of  thy  great  family.  Now 
I  am  going  to  rest  from  my  toils,  and  to 
enjoy  the  fruit  of  my  labors.  Arrived  at 
the  end  of  my  journey,  what  pleasure  do 
I  now  enjoy  in  recalling  to  my  mind  every 
good  action  which  Thou  hast  enabled  me 
to  perform.  Happy,  indeed,  would  it  be 
for  me,  if  there  had  been  no  actions,  the 
recollection  of  which  should  cover  me  with 
confusion.  But  alas  1  In  reviewing  the 
course  1  have  run,  I  perceive  a  multitude 
of  faults  and  transgressions  which  fill  mc 

M  2 


138  Exercises  of  Piety* 

with  shame  and  regret.  If  I  can  yet  cor- 
rect my  errors,  and  in  any  measure  repair 
the  injury  I  have  done  myself  or  my  fel- 
low creatures,  I  will  do  it  without  delay, 
and  with  the  greatest  alacrity,  whatever 
shame  it  may  occasion  me,  in  order  to  re- 
store peace  to  my  mind  before  I  quit  this 
state  of  trial,  and  appear  before  my  Judge. 
If  I  have  neglected  any  duties,  which  I^can 
yet  discharge  in  m^y  public  or  domestic  re- 
lations, I  will  immediately  fulfil  them,  lest 
death  surprise  me  before  I  have  complet- 
ed my  task.  My  sins  and  transgressions 
would  overwhelm  m.e  with  sorrow,  did  I 
not,  O  my  God,  consider  thy  mercy. — 
Thou  wilt  pardon  my  faults,  for  Thou 
art  an  indulgent  Father  to  those  wlio  re- 
pent and  amenJ.  The  death  and  resur- 
rection of  Jesus  Christ  are  the  secj^ity  and 
proofs  of  it.  How  full  of  consolation  is 
this  assurance  !  What  light  does  it  diffuse 
around  me  !  What  hope  and  trust  does  it 
inspire.    I  will  constantly  look  unto  Je- 


Old  Age.  139 

jius,  the  author  and  finisher  of  my  faith, 
my  forerunner  and  my  guide.  I  will  en- 
deavor to  imitate  his  example,  and  tread 
,  in  his  steps.  If  I  can  be  no  longer  useful 
to  saciety  by  my  labors,  I  will  try  to  be  so 
by  my  example.  My  children,  my  ser- 
vants, my  descendants,  shall  learn  from 
me  to  triumph  over  the  fears  of  death,  and 
to  die  as  becometh  Christians.  An  old 
man,  who  preserves  to  the  decline  of  life 
an  amiable  serenity,  and  easy  cheerfulness, 
who  recalls  to  his  mind  the  scenes  of  past 
life,  without  remorse,  and  who  contem- 
plates the  future  without  fear,  such  an 
old  man  may  still  be  useful  to  society. — 
How  much  good  may  he  do,  how  much 
^1  may  he  prevent,  by  his  advice,  by  his 
example,  and  even  by  his  presence  !  The 
young,  and  those  arrived  at  maturity,  as- 
semble around  him  to  receive  his  instruc- 
tions, to  learn  to  live  as  he  lived,  and  to 
approach  the  close  of  life  with  the  same 
tranquillity  of  soul  with  which  he  meets 


140  Exercises  of  Piety. 

his  dissolution.  V/hat  deep  and  lasting 
impressions  may  not  the  precepts,  the  ex- 
perience, the  exhortations,  which  are  the 
fruit  of  a  long  life,  make  upon  the  minds 
of  others.  Oh  that  the  torch  of  my  life 
may  burn  with  a  cheering  and  salutary 
splendor,  before  it  is  extinguished,  and 
leave  permanent  and  clear  traces  in  the 
hearts  of  those  who  are  younger  than  my- 
self. To  this  end,  I  will  endeavor  to  be  free 
from  the  weaknesses  and  defects  to  which 
old  age  is  usually  subject.  Far  from  me 
be  all  caprice,  insensibility,  austerity,  mo- 
roseness,  all  peevishness,  and  impatience. 
May  my  principal,  my  last  employment 
on  earth,  be  to  ease  and  lessen  the  care 
which  my  friends  and  others  take  of  me, 
to  testify  to  them  my  acknowledgments,  tc 
lead  them,  by  my  conduct,  to  respect,  and 
love  the  religion  of  Jesus,  and  prepare  fot 
its  highest  rewards.  About  to  separate 
fi'om  them,  I  commit  them,  vv^ith  myself^ 
into  thy  hands,  O  Heavenly  Father,  with 


Old  Age.  141 

an  entire  confidence.  Be  a  father  to  my 
children,  and  a  friend  to  my  friends. — 
Take  them  under  thy  protection.  Lead 
them  in  the  paths  of  piety  and  virtue. — 
Preserve  them  from  foolish  and  hurtful 
lusts.  Teach  them  to  make  a  proper  use 
of  thQ  prese?2t  life,  and  to  prepare  for  a 
future.  Then,  whatever  be  their  lot, 
whether  prosperous  x)r  adverse  ^  whether 
they  reach  to  my  advanced  age,  or  are  cut 
off  by  death,  in  the  midst  of  their  days, 
they  will  not  be  less  happy,  and  will  be 
finally  united  to  me,  never  to  separate  or 
to  die  any  more. 

Thus  would  I  finish  my  course.  Thus 
would  I  spend  the  close  of  my  life,  reliev- 
ing, benefitting,  and  blessing  all  around 
me.  Then  shall  I  behold  my  end  with 
calmness  and  tranqulIUcy.  Death  will 
conduct  me  to  a  better  world,  and  will 
therefore  be  3  m^ssen  ;er  of  joy.  With 
a  serene  mind  1  siiall j  to  a  more  perfect 
state,  where  I  hope  to  know  truth  with 


Ii2  Exercises  of  Piety, 

greater  certainty,  to  think  more  justly,  to 
worship  more  devoutly,  to  love  more  af- 
fectionately, to  act  with  greater  freedom, 
and  to  enjoy  pleasure  v/ithout  mixtui'e  or 
alloy.  Yes,  Oh  my  God,  thou  wilt  quick- 
ly call  me  to  thyself,  and  I  will  readily  o- 
bey  thy  voice,  for  thou  callcst  me  to  glory, 
honor  and  immortality.  Thy  perfections 
are  my  security  ;  and  thy  son  Jesus  Christ, 
v/hose  words  shall  never  pass  away,  gives 
me  the  most  positive  assurance  of  it. 

With  a  heart  deeply  impressed  with  | 
these  sentiments,  I  will  say  as  he  did  :  ( 

Father,  into  thy  hands  I  commit  my 
spirit." 


DLTY  TO  RULERS  AND  SUPERIORS, 


If  mankind  are  placed  in  a  state  of 
mutual  dependence  ;  if  they  have  different 
posts  assigned  them  in  society  j  if  some, 
invested  with  authority  and  power,  pre- 
side ancl  govern,  whilst  others  are  controll- 
ed and  obey    if  every  one  is  obUged,  for 
the  public  good,  to  confine  himself  with- 
in certain  limits,  to  submit  to  certain  bur- 
dens, this  arises  from  the  diversity  of  our 
understandings,  abilities,  and  talents,  and 
the  unavoidable  effect  of  social  life,  and 
is  necessary  to  the  general  good,  and  ad- 
vantageous to  the  human  race.  Without 
this  variety  of  conditions,  how  could  the 
union,  order,  security,  peace,  and  wellbe- 
ing  of  society  be  maintained  ?  How  could 
the  members  of  society  make  their  facul- 
ties and  talents  useful  to  the  public  ?  How 
could  they  expand  and  exercise  their  pow- 
ers, practice  all  the  virtues  of  which  they 
are  capable,  provid    for  their  common 


144  Exercises  of  Piety. 

wants,  and  execute  useful  undertakings  ? 
And  how  feeble,  and  destitute  of  succor 
should  we  be,  without  social  connexion  ? 
Do  not  these  connexions  and  relations 
necessarily  suppose  a  mutual  dependence 
and  subordination  ? 

I  here  perceive,  O  God,  thy  wise  dis- 
posal and  arrangement.  I  revere  and  sub- 
mit to  them,  fully  convinced  they  are  e- 
quitable  and  good  ;  that  they  tend  to  pro- 
mote the  general  welfare  of  thy  earthly 
family,  and,  of  consequence,  my  own  pri- 1 
vate  happiness. 

As  those  to  whom  thou  hast  entrusted 
the  administration  of  justice,  the  main- 
tenance of  lav/s,  and  the  government  of 
nations,  are  men  of  like  passions  with  my-  c 
self,  and,  on  that  account,  frail  and  lim-  ; 
ited  beings,  a  prey  to  error,  and  prone  to  -i 
failings  3  liable  to  be  deceived,  and  inca-  \ 
pable  of  seeing,  knowing,  and  executing  i; 
every  iLlng )  beings  who,  with  the  best :  ; 
mtentions,  cannot  do  all  the  good  they  c 


Duty  to  Rulers.  115 

may  wish,  nor  slirmount  all  the  obstacles 
they  may  encounter  ;  I  ought  not  to  ex- 
pect to  find  in  them  a  wisdom  and  a  vir- 
tue beyond  what  human  nature  is  capable 
of.  I  must  not  be  surprised  if  they  some- 
times commit  mistakes ;  if  their  measures 
are  not  always  so  wise,  nor  so  infallible, 
nor  their  administration  so  free  from  re- 
proach as  it  might  be.  Can  I  say,  that 
were  I  placed  in  the  same  circumstances  I 
should  not  be  guilty  of  many  greater 
faults,  be  more  deficient  in  the  duties  of 
justice,  equity  and  humanity,  and  more 
frequently  prefer  my  own  interest  and 
pleasure  to  the  general  good. 

All  the  arrangements  and  contrivances 
of  m.ortals  bear,  and  always  will  bear,  the 
marks  of  human  imperfection.  If  the 
-advantages  and  good  they  produce  more 
than  counterbalance  the  inconveniences 
and  evils  to  v/hich  they  expose  us,  I  will 
thankfully  enjoy  the  former,  and  endeav- 
or to  lessen  the  latter,  by  bearing  them 

N 


146  Excrches  of  Piety, 

with  patience.  I  will  not  forget  that  the 
obedience  I  owe  to  the  magistrate  is  a  du- 
ty which  God  himself  hath  commanded, 
the  observance  of  which  tends  to  the  hap- 
piness of  society,  and  consequently  to  mine, 
who  make  a  part  of  it. 

I  will,  therefore,  respect  my  superiors, 
and  lawful  rulers  3  and,  whilst  their  laws 
are  not  contrai^y  to  the  laws  of  God,  who 
is  my  supreme  Lawgiver,  I  will  faithfully 
observe  them,  not  from  a  motive  of  fear, 
but  as  the  gospel  teaches  me,  from  a  prin- 
ciple of  conscience,  and  a  regard  to  the 
general  welfare.  My  obedience  shall  not 
be  that  of  a  slave,  but  of  a  rational,  free 
and  intelligent  being,  who  acts  from  the 
unconstrained  impulse  of  the  mind.  I 
will  eive  to  those  w  ho  are  exalted  above 
me  in  authority  and  rank,  the  honors  and 
respect  to  which  they  are  entitled.  If  in, 
the  station  I  fill,  I  can  in  any  measure 
contribute  to  the  general  good  of  scciety,| 
I  will  do  it  v^'ith  alacrity  and  pleasure  — 


Duty  to  Rulers,  147 

and,  even  when  under  no  legal  obligation, 
will  endeavor  to  give  effect,  according  to 
my  abilities,  to  the  useful  and  salutary  in- 
tentions of  government. 

Far  be  it  from  me  to  envy  the  great  and 
powerful.  The  places  they  occupy  are  as 
dangerous  as  they  are  exalted  and  brilliant. 
The  path  they  tread  may  seem  strewed 
with  flowers,  but  these  flowers  most  fre- 
quently conceal  a  multitude  of  briars  and 
thorns,  from  which  my  path  is  exempted. 
They  have  also  their  burdens  to  bear,  bur- 
dens which  are  often  more  oppressive  than 
mine. 

Besides,  v^hether  my  condition  here  bs 
high  or  low,  bright  or  obscure,  it  will 
not  afl'ect  my  eternal  state.  My  future 
happiness  will  depend  on  the  exactness 
and  fidelity  v/ith  v/hich  I  shall  have  execut- 
ed the  task  which  Thou,  O  my  God,  hast 
given  me.  Whatever  may  be  the  station 
'  Thou  hast  been  pleased  to  assign  me,  if  I 
strictly  endeavor  to  discharge  its  duties,  it 

1 


148  Exercises  of  Piety. 

will  prepare  the  way  to  perfection  and  fe- 
licity. Grant  me,  O  God,  to  this  end 
thine  assistance.  Father  of  Mercies,  teach 
me  to  do  thy  will,  and  to  discharge  my 
duty,  with  all  the  attention  and  zeal  of 
which  I  am  capable.  Then  shall  I  always 
enjoy  thy  approbation,  and  in  whatever 
state  I  am  shall  learn  therewith  to  be  con- 
tent. 


THE  RICH  MAN. 


The  affluence  in  which  Thou,  O 
my  God,  permittest  me  to  live,  undoubt- 
edly procures  me  great  advantages,  and  a 
variety  of  comforts  and  delights.  It  pre- 
serves me  from  many  occasions  of  painfi;! 
anxiety  ;  it  opens  to  me  many  sources  of 
pleasure  and  joy,  which  wdthout  its  aid, 
would  have  been  shut  against  me.  It  ex- 
cites me  to  a  more  generous  activity  for 
the  public  good.  It  furnishes  me  viitli  a 
thousand  means  of  augmenting  my  own 
happiness,  and  that  of  my  brethren.  Be- 
neficent God  !  It  is  to  thy  sovereign  c^ood- 
ness  I  am  indebted  for  all  these  im.portant 
advantages,  and  I  return  Thee  my  most 
grateful  acknowledgments.  O  teach  me 
to  regard  and  employ  my.  riches  suitably 
to  thy  will  and  my  own  true  felicity  !  May 
I  never  consider  them  as  proofs  of  partic- 
ular merit  in  myself,  and  of  thy  predilec- 
tion towards  me.     How  many  of  my 

N  2 


150  Exercises  of  Piety, 

brethren,  plunged  in  the  depths  of  poverty, 
are  more  wise,  vutuous,  and  deserving  of 
thy  favors  than  I  am  !  May  I  never,  in 
future,  estimate  the  value  of  riches  by  the 
share  I  have  of  them,  but  by  the  wise,  no- 
ble and  serviceable  use  I  make  of  them. 

If  my  condition  hath  its  pleasures  and 
advantages,  it  hath  also  its  inconveniences 
and  dangers.  How  many  snares  surround 
the  rich  man  !  With  how  many  pretences 
do  riches  furnish  him  for  insolence,  vani- 
ty, pride,  efteminacy,  luxury  and  volup- 
tuousness !  What  risques  does  he  run  of  ^ 
violating  the  most  sacred  laws,  of  forget- 
ting God,  of  indulging  his  sensual  appe- 
tites, of  despising  the  poor,  of  oppressing 
the  Vvcak,  of  hardening  his  heart,  of  be- 
coming insensible  to  the  miseries  of  oth- 
ers ?  Kow  many  snares  are  laid  for  his  in- 
nocence and  virtue  r  Assist  me,  O  m.y 
God,  in  the  midst  of  these  difficulties ! — 
Enable  me  to  escape  these  dangers,  and 
surmount  all  these  obstacles  to  piety  and 


The  Rich  Man.  15:1' 

virtue.  Ah,  if  my  riches  would  remove 
me  to  a  greater  distance  from  Thee,  and 
lead  me  astray  into  the  paths  of  vice  and 
folly,  rather  take  them  from  me.  I  would 
infinitely  rather  be  poor  snd  virtuous,  than 
live  foolishly  and  wickedly  in  the  bosom  of 
plenty. 

Yes — if  my  riches  are  prejudicial  to  my 
spiritual  enjoyment,  to  my  truest  happiness 
and  the  lasting  felicity  of  my  soul,  then. 
O  mv  GcD,  c:ive  me  fortitude  to  free  mv- 
self  from  an  uneasy  burden,  by  consecrat- 
ing, whilst  still  living,  a  considerable  part 
of  it  to  support  useful  institutions  \  to  as- 
sist the  poor,  and  those  of  my  friends  who 
are  in  need ;  that  the  happy  miediocrlty  to 
which  I  shall  reduce  myself  by  these  gen- 
erous sacrifices,  may  lessen  the  difficulties 
and  obstacles  which  retard  or  mislead  me 
in  my  course. 

At  least  I  am  persuaded,  and  will  al- 
ways recollect,  that  I  have  difficult  duties 
to  discharge^  that  it  becomes  mc  to  take 


152  Exercises  of  Piety. 

peculiar  care  to  be  on  my  guard  against 
the  false  splendor  of  external  good  3  to  re- 
double my  attention  and  vigilance  over 
myself,  and  never  lose  sight  of  those  ties 
which  unite  me  to  God  and  man  ;  that 
by  avoiding  the  snares  which  fortune 
spreads  for  me,  I  may  walk  v/ith  a  firm 
and  sure  step  on  so  sHppery  a  road. 

I  will,  then,  inviolably  observe  the  laws 
which  reason  and  religion  dictate.  If,  in 
the  property  I  possess,  there  be  any  part 
which  1  have  acquired  unjustly,  I  would 
instantly  resiore  it  to  its  proper  owner  3 
or,  if  none  such  can  be  found,  I  would 
distribute  it  among  the  poor.  How  can 
I  enjoy  with  satisfaction,  and  apply  w^ith-- 
out  shame  and  remorse  to  my  cwjt  use, 
what  is  not  mine  but  belongs  to  another. 

Never  will  I  make  a  parade  of  my  rich- 
es before  the  eyes  of  others  in  such  a  man- 
ner as  to  humble  or  afRict  them.  Never 
vviil  I  boast  of  them  as  an  advantage  which 
advances  me  above  them.    Never  will  I 


The  Rich  Man.  153 

despise  the  poor  because  they  are  poor.— 
Never  will  I  treat  them  with  insolence  and 
cruelty,  or  forget  that  they  are  in  many 
respects  my  equals  and  my  brethren. 

My  acts  of  charity  shall  never  be  per- 
formed through  vanity  or  ostentation. — 
Far  be  it  from  me  to  reproach  the  poor 
man  I  relieve.    He  shviil  not  be  obliged 
to  purchase  my  kind  offices  by  humilia- 
tions and  meannesses.    I  would  never,  in 
an  offensive  manner,  remind  him  of  the 
assistance  he  has  received  from  me.  A 
look  that  speaks  pity  and  affection  doub- 
les the  gift,  and  makes  the  heart  of  mis- 
ery rejoice.    My  hand  and  my  counte- 
nance, therefore,  shall  give  together. — 
Thus,  when  I  am  asked  for  bread,  I  shall 
not  give  a  stone  along  with  it  \  and  when 
I  hear  a  fellow  christian  crying  out  with 
his  Divine  Master  when  expiring  on  the 
cross,  ''Lo,  I  thirst!"  I  shall  not  have 
the  barbarity  to  mock  his  distress,  and 
double  his  complaints,  by  giving  him  vin- 


154  Exercises  of  Piety. 

egar  to  drink  mingled  with  gall.  To  do 
good  in  secret,  without  a  witness,  without 
hope  of  a  return  ^  to  do  it  to  those  who 
are  ungrateful,  and  even  to  those  who  are 
my  enemies,  Vv^hat  ajdivine  pleasure  !  It 
is  to  imitate  thy  bounty,  Thou  most  be- 
nevolent of  beings,  and  to  be  merciful  as 
Thou,  my  Father  in  Heaven,  art  merci- 
ful. 

Riches  shall  not  be  the  rule  by  which  I 
will  estimate  the  merit  of  mankind,  and 
determine  the  share  they  shall  enjoy  of' 
my  esteem.    I  know  full  well  a  person^ 
may  be  rich  without  any  personal  merit,; 
and  that  poverty  does  not  exclude  the 
most  valuable  qualities.     Did  not  my' 
blessed  Lord  pass  his  life  in  the  bosom  of! 
poverty  and  indigence  ?  Let  not  me,  then,' 
his  professed  disciple,  place  my  affections 
on  the  goods  of  fortune,  or  consider  them 
as  essential  to  my  happiness.    What  is' 
there  more  fleeting  and  uncertain,  and 
consequently  less  solid  and  lasting,  than 


Ihe  Rich  Man.  155 

the  contentment  and  happiness  they  im- 
part ?  How  seldom  do  we  see  a  rich  man, 
truly  contented  and  happy  3  andhovv  ma- 
hy  persons  enjoy  real  ease  and  comfort, 
without  the  assistance  of  wealth  ? 

I  will  never  consider  the  use  I  make  of 
riches  as  a  matter  of  indifference.    It  is 
my  duty  to  employ  them  in  a  manner  the 
most  wise  and  beneficial  to  society  3  and 
it  is  much  more  difficult  to  discharge  this 
duty  than  is  generally  imaginedo    I  will 
not  leave  a  matter  of  this  consequence  to 
chance   and  though  in  many  cases  I  should 
pay  regard  to  the  circumstances  of  the 
[iioment,  these  circumstances  shall  not  be 
my  only  rule.    I  will  often  reflect  on  the 
rood  I  can  do   I  will  advise  with  my  most 
/irtuous  and  judicious  friends,  and  give 
:he  subject  my  closest  attention  and  care. 
The  poor,  the  sick,  and  the  unhappy,  have 
andoubtedly  the  first  and  most  inccntesti- 
ble  claim  to  my  assistance.    But  I  ought 
dso  to  take  in  hand  the  cause  of  inno- 


156  Exercises  of  Piety, 

cence,  the  Interests  of  liberty,  truth,  vir- 
tue, humanity,  and  public  happiness.— 
These  interests  I  ought  to  support  and  de- 
fend v/ith  so  much  the  more  courage  and 
zeal,  because  I  can  do  it  with  less  risque 
and  more  success  than  others.  This  is 
my  greatest  honor,  my  most  sacred  duty, 
and  my  highest  felicity. 

Thus,  shall  I  lay  up  treasure  for  futu- 
rity, become  rich  in  good  works,  in  gener- 
ous sentiments,  and  virtuous  actions. — y 
And  though  inevitably  exposed  to  be  one' 
day  deprived  of  tem.poral  riches,  I  shall 
acquire  others  which  shall  last  forever, 
which  even  death  itself  shall  not  snatch 
from  me,  and  which  will  open  to  me  in 
the  future  world  inexhaustible  sources  of 
blessings  and  joys. 


THE  POOR  MAN, 


Thou  distributest  as  it  pleases 
Thee,  Oh  God,  thy  blessings  amongst  men, 
according  to  laws  suprePxiely  wise,  but 
which  are  in  a  great  measure  unknown  to 
us. — "  Thou  exaltest  him  that  is  low,  and 
abasest  him  that  is  high  ;  Thou  makest 
poor,  and  makest  rich ;  Thou  bringest 
low,  and  liftest  up."  Nothing  exists  and 
takes  place  without  thy  permission  ;  eve- 
ry thing  is  directed  by  thy  universal  prov- 
idence. Let  thy  will  be  done,  great  God, 
for  it  is  just  and  good. 

Poverty  ought  not  to  quench  my  spirit, 
hinder  me  from  enjoying  the  pleasures  of 
existence,  nor  extinguish  the  sense  of  the 
dignity  of  my  nature.  All  that  consti- 
tutes human  nature ;  all  that  exalts  man 
above  other  terrestrial  creatures ;  all  that 
is  essential  to  his  true  glory,  and  to  his 
proper  and  lasting  perfection,  falls  to  my 


158  Exercises  of  Piety, 

lot  as  well  as  to  the  rich  man.  Have  I 
not  the  same  faculties,  the  same  abilities, 
the  same  hopes,  the  same  destination  as 
he  ?  Have  we  not  each  of  us  the  same  re- 
lation to  God,  our  Creator  and  Father, 
and  to  Jesus,  our  Lord  and  Savior  ?  Are 
we  not  to  meet  together  before  the  same 
tribunal  which  is  to  decide  our  fate  ? — 
Ought  we  not  here  to  prepare  ourselves 
for  the  same  fehcity  ?  Can  I  think  that 
Thou,  O  my  God,  lovest  me  the  less  be- 
cause I  am  poor ;  and  that  my  poverty 
will  be  an  obstacle  to  my  future  and  su- 
preme happiness  ? — Undoubtedly  not. — 
Thou  hast,  perhaps,  foreseen  that  afflu- 
ence and  abundance  v^'ould  be  hurtful  to 
me,  that  they  would  become  fatal  snares 
to  my  virtue  ,  in  this  case,  thy  paternal 
bounty  necessarily  led  Thee  to  refuse  them 
to  me.  Possibly  my  indigence  is  a  neces- 
sary means  of  preventing  evils  from  which 
Thou  wouldest  spare  me,  or  of  procuring 
to  my  brethren,  or  the  public,  many  con- 


The  Poor  Man. 


159 


slderable  advantages,  which  ought  to  out- 
weigh my  own  personal  advantage. 

I  will  never  blush  then  at  my  poverty. 
That  poverty,  which  is  not  the  effect  of 
bad  conduct,  is  no  disgrace  to  any  one. — 
It  is  of  no  consequence  to  me  to  be  esteem- 
ed by  any  one  who  would  despise  me  only 
because  I  am  poor.  It  is  not  the  person 
such  a  man  esteems  or  disregards,  it  is  his 
dress  and  externals.  Do  I  not  also  know 
that  my  indigence  will  not  degrade  me  in 
the  eyes  of  that  Great  Being  who  know- 
eth  all  things,  whose  judgment  is  infalli- 
ble, and  on  whom  alone  my  present  and 
future  happiness  depend  ?  Do  I  not  also 
know  that,  in  the  eyes  of  every  considerate 
person,  an  upright  mind,  and  a  sincere  and 
honest  heart,  is  of  more  value  than  all  tlic 
silver  and  gold  in  the  v/orld  ?  And  if  the 
wisest  and  most  virtuous  of  mankind  es- 
teem me,  may  I  not  be  unconcerned  at 
the  contempt  of  weak  and  foolish  minds  ? 


160  Exercises  of  Piety. 

But  if  I  have  no  occasion  to  be  asham- 
ed at  my  poverty,  I  ought  not  to  seek  to 
conceal  my  indigence  from  the  eyes  of  oth- 
ers. It  is  by  this  that  it  becomes  so  op- 
pressive and  insupportable  a  burden  to  so 
many  persons,  who  wish  to  appear  differ- 
ent from  what  they  really  are,  and  to  live 
like  people  v/ho  are  in  easy  and  afiiuent 
circumstances,  without  the  means  of  do- 
ing it.  Obliged  continually  to  dissemble 
and  disguise,  to  speak  and  to  act  the  re- 
verse of  Vv'hat  they  think,  such  persons  pass 
their  lives  under  constraint  and  perpetual 
uneasiness.  They  only  make  themselves 
more  contemptible  in  the  eyes  of  all  those 
who  see  through  their  ridiculous  vanity, 
and  deprive  themselves  of  the  esteem  of 
those  who  re2:ard  merit  more  than  fortune, 
it  shall  give  me  no  uneasiness,  then,  to 
o\yn  my  poverty  in  all  cases  wherein  this 
acknowledgment  will  be  necessary  or  con- 
venient. By  this  means  I  shall  free  my- 
self from  a  painful  constraint,  and  from 


riie  Poor  Man.  161 

many  troublesome  shackles ;  I  shall  be  at 
my  ease  ;  I  shall  live  suitably  to  my  con- 
dition, and  with  tranquillity  on  the  little 
I  possess.  I  can  then,  also,  accept  with 
gratitude,  and  without  shame,  the  assist- 
ance  which  benevolent  persons  may  be 
disposed  to  give  me.  But  this  avowal  of 
my  indigence  shall  always  be  accompanied 
with  a  proper  sense  of  my  natural  digni- 
ty 5  it  shall  be  the  avovval  of  a  man  who 
knows  how  to  value  himself,  who  judges 
widely  of  the  worth  of  things,  and  who  has 
learnt  to  be  contented  with  his  lot. 

To  support  myself  with  dignity  in  thr 
bosom  of  poverty,  I  must  carefully  avoid 
contracting  habits  which  are  commonly 
found  in  my  condition,  and  falling  into 
errors  into  which  poverty  so  easily  be- 
trays  us. 

Far  from  me  be  the  idea  of  makino:  use 
of  unlawful  and  disgraceful  means  of  ex- 
tricating myself  from  my  indigence,  or  of 
acquiring;  riches  :  I  should  then  lose  the 


162  Exercises  of  Piety, 

peace  of  my  own  mind,  the  esteem  of  good 
men,  and  the  approbation  of  my  God — • 
then,  indeed,  I  should  deserve  the  con- 
tempt and  disgrace  which  the  prejudices 
and  false  opinion  of  the  senseless  have  at- 
tached to  my  condition.  Far  from  me  be 
all  those  indecent  and  bitter  complaints 
which  poverty  often  utters  against  the  dis- 
pensations of  Heaven,  or  the  injustice  and 
cruelty  of  men.  By  these  I  should  offend 
my  Creator  and  my  Father,  and  exasperate 
my  brethren  against  me.  By  these  I  should 
increase  the  difficulties  in  which  I  am  in- 
volved, and  drive  from  me  those  who  might 
be  disposed  to  assist  me. 

Far  from  me  be  all  envy  at  the  sight  of 
the  real  or  imaginary  advantages  which 
riches  procure.  Far  from  me  be  the  con- 
tempt and  hatred  by  which  the  poor  seek 
to  revenge  themselves  on  the  rich  for  the 
want  of  their  fortune.  Would  not  this 
be  to  pass  judgment  on  the  wise  proceed- 
ings of  Providence,  to  accuse  an  infinitely 


The  Poor  Man.  163 

wise  and  righteous  Being  of  injustice,  and 
to  open  to  myself  the  sources  of  affliction 
and  disappointment  ?  Far  from  me  be  that 
discouragement,  those  painful  apprehen- 
sions, those  anticipated  uneasinesses  to 
which  the  poor  sometimes  give  way.  Lit- 
tle is  wanted  for  the  support  of  a  man 
who  knows  hovv^  to  confine  himself  to 
simple  necessaries,  and  who  has  shaken  off 
the  yoke  of  artificial  wants.    And  hast 
Thou  not,  O  my  God,  an  infinite  variety 
of  means  to  relieve  my  wants  and  extri- 
cate me  from  my  misery  ?  If  I  make  a 
prudent  use  of  my  abihties — if  I  labor 
with  persevering  zeal  and  activity,  can  I 
suspect  Thou  wilt  ever  forget  "and  forsake 
me    that  Thou  wilt  permit  thy  creature, 
thy  child,  to  want  what  is  necessary  ?  Be- 
sides, how  uncertain  is  that  future  period 
about  which  I  distress  myself !  How  short 
and  fleeting  is  the  life  of  man  ?  V/hy  then 
should  I  give  myself  up  a  prey  to  inquie- 
tudes about  distant  events,  which  I  may 


164  Exercises  of  Piety, 

never  see  ?  Why  should  I  disquiet  myself 
about  what  may  never  happen  ? 

However  sharp  and  rugged  soever  be  the 
road  I  am  called  to  travel,  it  will  bring  me 
to  the  end  I  have  in  view  with  as  much, 
perhaps  v/uh  much  more  safety,  than  the 
straightest  and  the  smoothest  road.  Full  of 
filial  confidence,  therefore,  O  my  God,  I 
yield  myself  up  to  thy  direction,  and  sub- 
mit to  thy  wiiL 

Am  I  not  daily  drawing  nearer  to  a  bet- 
ter life,  where  the  poor  shall  no  longer  be 
eclipsed  by  the  rich,  nor  the  little  trampled 
on  and  oppressed  by  the  great — ^whereall 
shall  be  tried  by  the  Sovereign  Judge  of 
the  universe  and  the  Father  of  mankind, 
according  to  what  they  have  done,  and  not 
according  to  what  they  have  possessed— 
where  every  one  will  receive  the  rev^ards^ 
or  the  punishments  he  hath  deserved.  In 
that  world  those  riches,  Vv/hich  are  here  so 
much  esteemed,  will  be  of  no  value — 
There,  those  things  only  wi!!  be  prized 


1:116  Poor  Man. 


165 


which  may  be  shared  equally  by  all  men, 
the  poor  as  well  as  the  rich,  and  which 
cannot  be  taken  from  us.  The  less  I 
have  then  of  temporal  riches  the  more  I 
should  strive  to  obtain  those  which  are  e- 
ternal.  Happy  shall  I  be,  when  I  quit 
this  world,  if  I  carry  vvith  me  a  fund  of 
wisdom,  integrity  and  virtue — a  heart  full 
of  love  to  God  and  men.  Then  may  I 
rejoice  in  the  hope  of  not  having  neglect- 
ed the  design  for  which  I  was  sent  into  the 
world.  Then  I  shall  be  rich — rich  in  spir- 
itual and  incorruptible  blessings,  which 
will  alvvays  increase  and  always  improve. 
O  that,  animated  by  these  sentiments,  I 
may  labor  with  unwearied  industry  to  ac- 
quire these  invaluable  and  heavenly  bles- 
sings. 

This,  O  my  God,  is  the  only  prayer  I 
can  address  to  Thee  without  restriction  ^ 
convinced  that  what  I  ask  is  advanta- 
geous and  useful  for  me,  and  that  Thou 
wilt  not  fail  to  grant  it. 


A  PERSON  CONFINED  BY  SICKNESS. 

It  is  in  Thee,  O  my  God,  I  liveJ 
and  move,  and  have  my  being.  Heahh 
and  strength  are  derived  from  Thee.  Thoui 
dispenseth  these  blessings,  like  all  other 
earthly  favors,  as  seemeth  good  in  thy 
sight.  As  to  myself,  Thou  hast  favored 
me  less,  in  this  respect,  than  many  of  my 
fellowcreatures  around  me.  I  feel  it, 
and  have  often  wept  over  it  with  regret  5 
especially  when  the  weakness  of  my  body 
has  lessened  the  activity  of  my  mind,  and  ^ 
prevented  my  contributing,  according  to!  ;^ 
my  wishes,  to  the  general  good.  '  ^' 

But  I  check  every  rising  murmur,  and 
say,  with  my  heart,  as  well  as  with  my' 
lips,    not  my  v/ill,  but  thine  be  done."  p'- 

If  my  own  excesses  and  w^anderings  in- 
past  life  have  produced  that  state  of  weak- 
ness in  which  I  languish,  it  is  just  I  should  • 
experience  the  pernicious  effects  of  my  un- 
gpverned  passions  and  senseless  conduct. — 


Sickness. 


167 


These  effects  are  a  salutary  lesson  to  my- 
self and  others.    Yes,  O  my  God,  even 
when  Thou  stiikest  I  adore  thy  goodness^ 
and  acknowledge  that  Thou  art  the  wisest 
Master  and  the  tenderest  Parent.  With- 
ut  these  warnings  and  fatherly  correc- 
lons  I  had  continued  to  walk  in  the  road 
f  vice  and  folly,  and  thereby  become  still 
more  wretched  than  at  present. 

But  if  the  weakness  of  my  constitution 
be  not  the  effect  of  my  own  excesses,  but 
he  consequence  of  circumstances  which 
nave  not  depended  on  me,  I  ought  to  re- 
ard  it  as  the  result  of  thy  wise  arrange- 
nents — as  the  effect  of  thy  universal  prov- 
dence,  v^diich  concerns  itself  in  the  small- 
st  as  well  as  in  the  greatest  events,  and 
vhich  makes  all  things  work  together  for 
he  accomplishment  of  its  glorious  designs. 

These  designs  are  indeed  impenetrable 
y  me  3  but  I  am  persuaded  they  are  as 
vise  as  they  are  salutary,  and  sooner  or 
ater  I  shall  see  that  they  are  so.  Thou 


168  Exercises  of  Piety, 

perceivest,  at  a  glance  of  thine  eye,  the 
whole  of  my  existence  :  Thou  perfectly 
knowest  all  that  I  am  and  all  that  I  shall 
become,  in  the  present  and  the  future 
state  :  Thou  alone  canst  dispose  of  and 
order  my  lot  so  as  best  to  conduce  to  my 
supreme  felicity.  And  ought  not  this 
idea  to  calm  and  compose  my  mind  ? 

But  notwithstanding  the  narrow  limita 
of  my  knowledge,  I  can,  in  many  cases, 
perceive  useful  effects  arising  from  the  de- 
cay of  my  health.  Even  this  condition 
may  become  to  me  a  sourse  of  blessings  j 
if,  instead  of  giving  myself  up  to  mur^ 
muring  and  depression  of  spirit,  I  improve 
it  as  v^isdom  and  religion  direct. 

Who  knows  but,  if  I  had  enjoyed  ai 
more  established  health,  I  might  have  be- 
come the  prey  of  imperious  and  disorderly 
passions,  and  the  slave  of  sensual  appetites  i 
I  should  then  perhaps  have  yielded  my-  o 
self  up  to  levity,  to  a  taste  for  dissipation 
to  vanity,  sensuality  and  luxury  5  and  Vviti 


f 

Sickness.  165 

more  strength,  I  might  have  done  much 
less  good,  and  have  discharged  the  duty 
of  my  station  with  less  zeal  and  sincerity. 

Is  it  likely  I  should  then  have  thought 
as  frequently  and  with  so  much  advantage 
as  I  have  done  on  Thee,  my  God  5  on  re- 
ligion, the  state  of  my  soul,  and  a  future 
existence  ?  Would  these  thoughts  have 
.appeared  to  me  so  important  as  they  now 
do  ?  And  would  they  have  contributed  so 
much  to  have  made  me  better  and  more 
resigned,  as  they  have  done  ?  At  present 
the  sense  of  my  weakness  engages  me  fre- 
quently to  consider  these  objects,  and  ren- 
ders them  interesting  to  my  heart,  and  a 
consolation  to  my  mind. 

Is  it  likely  I  should  so  well  have  knov/n, 
tasted,  and  relished  the  innocent  delights 
of  domestic  life,  the  noble  pleasures  of  re- 
ligion, and  the  attractive  charms  of  virtu- 
ous friendship?  Would  my  heart  have 
been  so  susceptible  of  compassion  and  of 
pity  ?  Should  I  have  felt  so  lively  an  inter- 
p 


1 70  Exercises  of  Piety. 

est  in  the  happiness  of  others  ?  Might  I 
not  rather  have  become  proud,  insensible 
and  cruel  ? 

Encouraged  by  a  feeling  of  strength, 
might  I  not  have  deferred  to  an  uncertain 
futurity  the  execution  of  things  the  most 
important,  instead  of  being  sensible,  as  I 
now  am,  of  the  uncertainty  of  life,  and 
therefore  improving  the  present  moment 
with  diligence  ? 

How  dangerous  is  uninterrupted  health 
and  a  vigorous  constitution  !  How  prone 
are  we  to  rely  on  our  strength,  and  to  sin 
under  the  idea  of  security.    Into  what 
excesses  should  we  not  run  headlong  with- 
out the  restraints  of  sickness  and  suffering. 
Eager -ppetites,  clamorous  passions,heark- 
€n  to  no  other  call.    The  voice  of  reason 
cannot  reach  them.    As  full  of  suffering 
as  the  Vv'orld  is,  men  still  find  courage  to 
be  wicked  5  and  the  little  of  virtue  that 
yet  remains  among  us,  is  chiefly  owing 
to  this  salutary  discipline.   Blessed  calam- 


Sickness.  171 

itiesj  that  humble  pride,  that  calm  the  pas- 
sions, that  curb  each  inordinate  appetite  ! 
Blessed  sicknesses,  that  meet  the  heart  in 
its  wanderings,  and  bring  it  back  to  Thee, 
the  only  centre  of  rest !  Blessed  disappoint- 
ments, which  afflict  but  purify — tear  and 
harrow  up  the  soul,  but  prepare  it  for  the 
seeds  of  virtue. 

Without  this  weakness  of  constitution 
should  I  have  familiarized  my  mind  to  the 
idea  of  death,  and  been  armed  against  its 
terrors  ?  Perhaps  the  most  distant  appre- 
hension of  my  decease,  the  slightest  fore- 
bodings of  dissolution,  had  filled  me  with 
uneasiness  and  fear  3  and  I  should  not  have 
beheld,  without  distress  and  terror,  the 
moment  when  my  soul  should  quit  this 
terrestrial  abode. 

If  my  present  state  of  languor  and 
weakness  deprive  me,  on  the  one  hand,  of 
some  corporeal  pleasures  and  advantages 
-^if  it  sometimes  expose  me  to  sorrow 
and  sufferings  >  on  the  other  hand  it  con- 


172  Exercises  of  Piety, 

tributes  to  my  internal  and  spiritual  im- 
provement :  And  this  improvement  is  the 
onlygood  thing  which  will  follow  me  in  the 
other  world.  ¥/hat  thanks  do  I  owe  Thee, 
O  my  Father,  for  tlie  Gospel  of  thy  beloved 
Son,  which  in  this  scene  of  suffering  com- 
poses and  enlivens  my  heart,  with  the  cer- 
tain prospect  of  a  world  where  a  body  shall 
be  prepared  for  me  like  to  Christ*s  glorifi- 
ed body,  not  subject  to  weakness  and  pain. 

What  a  motive  is  tliis  to  live  contented 
and  resigned,  notwithstanding  the  daily 
feeling  of  my  weakness  ! 

No,  O  my  God,  I  will  offer  no  incon- 
siderate prayer  to  Thee.  I  will  not  ask 
for  health,  but  with  great  submissicri  to 
thy  will.  Thou  v/ilt  always  give  me  what 
is  necessary  to  my  true  happiness.  It  is 
not  for  me,  who  am  ignorant  and  blind, 
to  prescribe  v/hat  measure  of  health  is  fit 
for  me. 

If  I  cannot  extend  the  sphere  of  my  ac- 
tivity, I  will  at  least  endeavor,  by  thy  grace,,: 


Sickness  4  175 

not  to  neglect  any  thing  by  which  I  can 
be  useful.  Far  from  me  be  all  impatience 
and  peevishness.  I  will  endeavor  to  les- 
sen the  cares  of  my  friends  for  me,  and  to 
express  to  them  my  gratitude  for  all  the 
concern  they  show  me.  The  little  good 
I  can  do,  I  will  do  with  all  the  zeal  of 
which  I  am  capable.  Though  weak,  I 
am  not  entirely  destitute  of  strength  ^  arid 
in  the  exertion  of  mv  remainingr  stren;2:th 
I  shall  not  be  wholly  useless  to  the  world. 
Thoa  requirest  from  thy  creatures  no 
more  than  Thou  enablest  them  to  perform. 
To  be  what  Thou  wiliest  I  should  be  ^ 
to  perform  what  Thou  wiliest  me  to  per- 
form 5  this  is  my  duty,  and  my  supreme 
felicity. 

my  God,  let  tliese  considerations,  so 
full  of  comfort,  be  never  absent  from  my 
mind.  Let  them  dispel  the  darkness  of 
adversity,  and  influence  all  my  sentiments 
and  actions.  I  shall  then  never  sink  un- 
der the  weight  of  mv  suiTcrings  ^  I  shall 


174  Exercises  of  Piety. 

never  xease,  in  the  depth  of  my  afflictions, 
to  respect  and  love  Thee  as  the  wisest  and 
the  best  of  fathers,  and  resign  myself  en- 
tirely to  thy  disposal. 


ON  THE  DEATH  OF  FRIENDS. 


It  is  Thou,  great  God,  who  hast 
united  men  together  by  the  closest  ties.  It 
is  Thou  who  hast  in  such  various  ways  in- 
terwoven our  interests,  our  pleasures,  and 
our  pains.  Thou  hast  given  us  as  assist- 
ants, conductors,  guides  and  supports  to 
each  other.  Thou  hast  inspired  us  with 
sentiments  of  love  for  one  another.  The 
tears,  therefore,  what  we  shed  at  the  death 
of  those  who  were  dear  to  us,  cannot  be 
displeasing  to  Thee.  It  is  thy  w411  that 
^  v/e  should  love  them,  and  Thou  beholdest 
thy  children  with  an  approving  satisfac- 
tion, when  answering  to  thy  paternal 
views,  they  live  in  harmony  and  tenderly 
love  each  other. 

But  Thou  wouldst  have  our  love  to  bsL 
an  enlightened  and  rational  affection  ;  that 
cur  esteem  and  attachment  should  be  pro- 
portioned to  the  Beings  vv^ho  are  the  ob- 
jects of  them.    Thou  designest  that  v/e 


176  Exercises  of  Piety, 

should  love  that  which  is  perishable  and 
mortal  as  we  ought  to  love  such  creatures ; 
that  we  should  reserve  our  supreme  love 
and  chief  regard  for  Thee  alone,  an  eter- 
nal and  mfinite  Being,  the  only  inexhaust-  | 
ible  Source  of  all  beauty  and  perfection. 
The  beloved  persons  vvhose  loss  I  de- 
plore were  doubtless  mortal.  Taken  from 
dust,  they  must  necessarily  return  to  it  a- 
gain  ;  strangers  upon  earth,  like  myself, 
my  parents,  and  my  brethren,  they  must 
return  to  their  own  country.  This  is 
what  I  ought  never  to  have  forgotten — 
this  is  what  I  ought  frequently  to  have 
repeated  to  myself,  even  in  the  moments 
when  I  was  tasting  the  pleasures  of  their 
friendship ;  in  this  manner  should  I  have 
regulated  my  attachment,  and  have  pre- 
pared myself  for  a  sudden  and  inevitable 
separation  from  them.  So  true  is  it  that 
if  we  were  more  attentive  to  the  paternal 
lessons  Thou  daily  givest  us,  we  should 
have  no  occasion  for  that  instruction  in 


Death  of  Friends,  177 

the  school  of  afflictloa  and  misfortune, 
Vv  hich  we  might  more  easily  leara  from 
our  own  reflections. 

The  loss  I  have  lately  sustained  is  un- 
doubtedly painful  and  affecting.  The 
more  intimate  and  sacred  were  the  ties 
which  united  me  to  these  dear  friends,  the 
greater  strength  and  consistence  time  had 
given  them,  and  the  more  habitual  they 
were  become  to  me,  so  much  the  more 
cruelly  must  my  heart  be  torn  at  the  mo- 
ment the  arrow  of  death  hath  just  cut 
those  beloved  knots  assunder,  and  the  deep- 
er and  more  painful  v/ill  be  the  wound 
arising  from  them.  But  it  is  thus  that 
all  the  ties  which  bind  me  to  the  earth 
will  loosen  and  break  away,  that  my  pas- 
sage from  this  world  to  another  may  not 
be  too  painful  for  me.  Those  whom  I 
cordially  loved  have  only  preceded  me  a 
few  steps.  Very  soon,  perhaps  sooner 
than  I  suspect,  I  shall  follow  them.  Then, 
the  days  and  the  years  that  I  have  passed 


178  Exercises  of  Piety » 

in  their  absence  will  appear  to  me  as  a 
fleeting  dream,  to  which  will  have  suc^ 
ceeded  the  lustre  of  a  beautiful  day.  Then 
shall  I  soon  forget  all  the  afflictions  and 
all  the  pains  of  this  short  life,  and  I  shall 
be  recompensed  by  the  enjoyment  of  a 
pure  and  lasting  felicity.    Then  we  shall 
find  ourselves  reunited  with  wise  and  vir- 
tuous men  in  the  assembly  of  the  just  made 
perfect  in  heaven.    And  if,  to  render  our 
felicity  complete,  it  is  necessary,  as  I  can 
scarcely  doubt,  that  we  should  know  again 
the  persons  whom  we  here  tenderly  loved, 
and  should  enter  into  new  and  closer  rela- 
tions, Thou,  O  heavenly  Father,  wilt  not 
deprive  us  of  this  sweet  satisfaction.  Yes, 
v/e  shall  then  advance  from  one  degree  of 
improvement  and  felicity  to  another  ;  and  ? 
by  imparting  to  each  other,  without  the 
shadow  of  jealousy  and  envy,  all  our 
knowledge,  our  advantages  and  pleasures, 
we  shall  multiply  them  to  infinity,  and 
make  the  enjoyment  of  them  more  noble 


Death  of  Friends.  179 

and  delightful.    Those  friends  whose  loss 
I  deplore  have  fought  the  good  fight  and 
finished  their  course,  whilst  I  am  yet  oblig- 
ed to  struggle  with  difficulties  here  below. 
They  have  run  the  race  and  reached  the 
goal,  whilst  I  am  still  pressing  towards  it. 
They  now  rest  from  their  labors,  and  their 
works  have  followed  them.    And  shall  I 
not  rejoice  in  their  victory  and  their  re- 
w^ards,  their  felicity  and  glory  ?  Can  I 
wish  to  see  them  reenter  the  list,  and  be- 
gin anew  their  painful  labors — to  see  them 
again  expose  themselves  to  the  dangers 
and  the  adversities  of  life. 

No,  dear  departed  friends  !  Howxver  I 
valued  you  here,  however  sensibly  I  feel 
your  loss,  I  v/ish  not  to  see  you  again 
struggling  beneath  the  burdens  of  mortal- 
ity. I  hail  your  safe  arrival  on  that  bless- 
ed shore  v^here  the  wicked  cease  from 
troubling  and  the  weary  are  at  rest. 

Thanks  be  to  Thee,  O  my  God,  who 
art  their  Father  and  mine,  that  thou  hast 


180  Exercises  of  Piety. 

sustained  them  in  their  combats,  conduct- 
ed them  to  the  end,  and  introduced  them 
to  the  enjoyments  of  the  just.  But,  per- 
haps, like  a  forsaken  orphan,  I  may  be 
apt  to  consider  myself  as  a  solitary  indi- 
vidual in  the  midst  of  a  tumultuous  crowd 
of  joyful,  busy  men.  Perhaps  I  have  lost 
my  principal  support,  my  most  generous 
benefactor,  and  my  faithful  guardian  and 
guide.  Alas  !  it  is  now  that  I  most  sen- 
sibly perceive  my  own  weakness,  depend- 
ence and  insufficiency.  It  is  now  that  I 
groan  under  the  feeling  of  my  wants  ^ 
and  every  difficulty  I  experience,  every 
dangler  I  meet  with,  now  fills  me  with 
fear  and  terror. 

But  am  I  really  so  forsaken  and  destitute 
of  help  as  I  imagine  ?  How  many  wise  and 
virtuous  Christians  are  there  in  the  world 
w^ho  are  disposed  to  conduct  the  feeble  and 
those  who  are  destitute  of  help  ?  Am  I 
not,  moreover,  under  the  constant  direc- 
tion of  thy  providence,  O  thou  Parent  of 


Death  of  Friends.  131 

mankind  ?  Canst  thou  forsake  any  one  of 
thy  children  who  flies  to  Thee  for  refuge, 
casts  himself  into  thy  bosom,  and  hum- 
bly submits  to  thy  will  ? 

But  it  is  thy  will  that  I  should  exercise 
my  powers  and  make  greater  efforts  to 
improve  in  virtue.  It  is  thy  will,  that,  no 
longer  leaning  on  the  support  of  othersj  I 
should  walk  alone  in  the  journey  of  life; 
that  I  should  be  less  influenced  by  the  ex- 
ample of  others  than  by  my  own  princi- 
ples ;  that  I  should  accustom  myself  to 
think  and  act  with  rnore  steadiness  and 
consistency,  that  I  may  one  day  become  to 
my  brethren'  what  those  persons,  whose 
loss  I  deplore,  were  to  me.  These  may  be 
among  the  reasons  why  thou  hast  taken 
from  me  these  supports  and  left  me  to 
myself. 

Teach  me,  O  Lord,  to  do  and  bear  thy 
will,  and  to  draw  instruction  from  the 
adversities  of  life. 


182  Exercises  of  Piety. 

Are  they  innocent  children,  the  objects 
of  my  sweetest  hopes,  that  death  hath 
snatched  from  me  ? 

Taken  from  this  world  in  the  age  of 
innocence  to  pass  into  a  more  perfect  a- 
bode,  they  are  sheltered  from  the  snares 
and  temptations  of  the  present  life  -y  they 
have  escaped  a  thousand  evils  and  a  thou- 
sand dangers ;  and  Thou  wilt  not  fail  to 
realize  the  hopes  which  they  have  raised 
by  their  natural  dispositions,  and  by  the 
excellent  faculties  with  vv^hich  Thou  hast 
endowed  them.  Yes,  Thou  art  their  true 
Father,  and  wilt  advance  them  much  bet- 
ter than  I  could  possibly  do.  Thou  wilt 
conduct  them  with  much  more  ease  and 
safety  to  the  end  of  their  existence  than  the 
wisest  and  best  of  earthly  parents  could. 

Is  it  the  friend,  the  confident  of  my 
heartj  whose  death  I  lament  ?  But  was  he 
not  at  the  same  tim.e,  and  much  more,  the 
friend  of  God,  and  the  friend  of  all  wise 
and  rood  men  r  And  must  not  death  have 


Death  of  Friends.  153 

extended  the  sphere  of  his  aetlvity,  enno- 
bled his  sentiments,  and  augmented  his 
happiness  ?  What  a  prospect  for  ever)^ 
one  who  is  capable  of  a  generous  disin- 
terested friendship  ! 

Moreover,  is  not  all  friendship,  found- 
ed in  truth  and  virtue,  in  its  own  nature 
immortal  ?  Is  it  not  as  immortal  as  truth 
and  virtue  ?  In  separating  virtuous  friends 
death  on]y  purifies  and  exalts  their  friend- 
ship. Like  a  tree  transplanted  into  a  more 
fertile  soil  and  milder  climate,  it  shall 
flourish  again  beyond  the  tomb  and  bear 
immortal  fruit. 

When  I  moisten  with  my  tears  the 
grave  of  my  friends,  it  is  not  for  them 
but  for  myself  I  weep.  It  is  only  their 
bodies  in  the  tomb.    Their  im- 

mortal souls  are  returned  to  their  Creator 
and  their  Father.  Nothing  that  was 
great  and  good,  and  amiable  in  tliem — 
nothing  that  excited  my  esteem  and  love 

for  them  is  perished.    Their  souls  con- 

1  ^ 

i 


18  i  Exercises  of  Piety, 

tinue  to  think,  and  think  with  greater 
freedom  and  justness  than  ever.  Their 
inclinations  and  sentiments  are  the  same, 
excepting  that  they  are  more  and  more  ex- 
alted and  refined.  Even  to  me  their  most 
excellent  qualities  are  not  lost.  Often  will 
I  recall  to  mind  their  precepts,  their  exam- 
ples, their  exhortations  and  advice,  and 
from  thence  derive  wisdom  and  instruc- 
tion. Their  image,  deeply  impressed  on 
my  heart,  shall  be  often  present  to  me  ; 
sometimes  kindly  to  reprove  me  for  my 
faults,  and  at  others  to  encourage  me  in 
virtue.  Possibly  in  a  future  life  they  shall 
again  be  my  instructors  and  my  guides,; 
and  instate  me  in  the  important  and  re- 
joicing employments  which  await  me  in 
the  heavens.  Yes,  O  my  God,  the  friends' 
of  my  heart  belonged  to  Thee,  and  they 
will  be  eternally  thine.  Thou  gavest 
them  to  me.  Thou  hast  taken  them  from 
me,  and  blessed  be  thy  Name. 


EXERCISES  OF  PIETY, 

FOR   THE   L  O  R  D's  DAY. 


l.^FVR  THE  MORNING. 


Hail  day  of  the  Lord  !  When  my 
body  should  rest  frora  its  temporal  employ- 
ments ;  but  my  soul^  endowed  with  intelligence 
and  formed  for  immortality,  should  display  its 
noblest  activity  !  The  day  consecrated  to  the 
cilices  of  piety,  tlie  instructions  of  religion,  and 
the  worship  of  God  ;  the  day  for  preserving 
the  memory  of  tlie  Creation  of  all  things,  and 
foi'  celebrating  the  redemption  of  the  v.orld  by 
Jesus  Christ ! 

With  what  pleasing  emotions  do  I  cor.tem- 
plate  my  fellow  christians  of  all  nations,  in  all 
parts  of  the  world,  relieved  from  the  burden  of 
their  employments  and  the  hurry  of  their  busi- 
ness, raising  themAScives  above  the  vain  attach- 
ments of  earih,  and  seeking  in  tlie  service  and 
love  of  God  that  happiness  v.  hich  is  no  where 
else  to  be  found.  And  who  can  estimate  the 
many  just  refiections  and  noble  ideas,  the  many 
good  sentiments  and  pious  resolutions,  hieh 
this  day  produces  and  preserves  among  Cluis- 
tians  !  To  the  appointment  and  the  observation 

0^2 


136 


Exercises  of  Piety. 


of  this  solemn  festival,  the  world  is  indebted, 
more  than  to  any  other  circumstance,  for  the 
diffusion  of  the  most  important  knowledge ; 
for  the  advancement  of  social  order,  refinement, 
and  happiricss  ;  and  for  the  continuance  and 
spread  of  the  glorious  gospel.  Let  us  then, 
venerate  the  salutary  institution  ! 

Accept  ruv  thanks,  OGob  !  for  this  blessed 
day,  and  for  the  valuable  advantas-es  I  have  de- 
rived  from  it.  How  many  times  hath  the  pie- 
ty of  my  fellov/  worshippers  awakened  and  in- 
flamed my  own  ! — How  many  times  hath  my 
heart  felt  more  calm,  more  impressed  with  the 
truths  of  religion,  more  inflamed  with  the  love 
of  goodness,  the  love  of  God,  and  the  love  of 
man,  Vvhcn  in  union  with  my  christian  breth- 
ren  I  have  bovv^ed  before  Thee,  O  thou  Most 
High!  Hov^^  often  hath  the  agreeable  liglit  of 
truth,  and  the  transporting  image  of  virtue,  left 
the  most  lively  impressions  on  my  heart  and 
spirit,  after  engaging  in  the  devotions  and  du- 
ties of  the  smctnary  !  Then  have  vanished  all 
the  doubts  that  distressed  me;  then  have  dis- 
appeared all  the  difHculties  I  had  met  in  the 
way  of  holiness  and  perfection  ;  and  nothing 
was  feared  to  stop  or  slacken  my  pace.  Then 
I  felt  new  strength  and  courage  to  pursue  my 
race,  new  zeal  and  hopes  to  gain  the  prize  ! 

O  may  this  day  produce  in  me  like  salutary 
effects  !  Filled  with  profound  respect  and  true 
filial  confidence,  I  will  draw  nigh  to  Thee,  my 
Creator  and  Father,  and  join  thy  worshippers, 
to  offer  the  common  sacrifice  of  praise  and 


Morning, 


187 


thanksgiving  which  is  due  to  Thee  !  Penetrat- 
ed with  joy  and  gratitude,  I  shall  feel  by  my 
own  experience  the  happiness  of  that  man  who 
knows  Thee,  who  loves  Thee,  who  is  united 
to  Thee  !  Of  that  child  whom  thou  dost  direct 
and  govern,  and  who  freely  resigns  himself  to 
thy  paternal  guidance.  Inflamed  with  the  most 
generous  affection  for  mankind,  I  shall  rejoice 
in  the  idea  that  we  are  all  originally  equal,  all 
invited  to  approach  Thee  together,  and  all  heirs 
of  the  same  future  blessedness*  Filled  with  ho- 
ly fervor,  I  will  hear,  with  attention,  those  great 
truths  which  shall  be  preached  ;  apply  them  to 
my  conduct,  my  necessities,  my  particular  cir- 
cumstances ;  and  open  my  heart  to  their  heav- 
enly influence.  Far  from  me  be  all  indifference, 
luke  u  armness,  or  absence  of  mind  ;  all  preju- 
dice, every  earthly  idea,  and  carnal  passion  ; 
every  thing  Vvhich  might  prevent  my  affording 
an  attentive  ear  to  the  voice  of  truth,  or  obstruct 
its  salutary  efScacy  on  my  mind  and  conduct. 

I  will  also  consecrate  a  part  of  the  leisure 
which  this  day  secures  to  me,  to  converse  with 
myself,  to  examine  carefully  the  state  of  my 
soul,  to  reflect  on  Vv^hat  I  have  heard  or  read, 
and  to  turn  it  to  the  advantage  of  my  true  and  es- 
sential interests.  The  mind  has  need  of  nourish- 
ment and  strength,  as  well  as  the  body ;  and 
this  day  is  principally  designed  to  obtain  it. 
The  mind  has  need  of  relaxation  from  its  tem- 
poral engagements,  and  1  ought  this  day  to  pro- 
cure it  such  relaxation. — The  more  obstacles 
and  dangers  lie  in  my  way,  the  greater  risk  of 


188  ■  Exercises  of  Piety. 

stumbling  and  being  misled  ;  the  more  impor- 
tant is  it  that  I  sometimes  stop  ia  the  midst  of 
my  course,  to  enter  into  ni)  self,  to  survey  the 
path 'I  have  trodden,  and  that  which  remains, 
and  to  compare  the  one  v/ith  the  other.  This 
is  one  of  the  tasks  I  propose  this  day  to  per- 
form. I  v\  ill  rcriect  with  myself,  that  1  may 
learn  the  moral  state  of  my  soul !  1  will  endeav- 
or to  discover  v.  hat  obstacles  have  prevented 
my  greater  progress  in  knowledge  and  virtue, 
in  christian  duty  and  felicity  ;  and  I  will  dili- 
gently incjuke  what  remains  to  be  done  to  in- 
crease my  attainments  and  perfect  my  graces. 
Grant  me,  O  my  God,  thine  assistance  and 
blessing,  that  allvvhichl  may  think,  read,  hear, 
and  do  to  day  may  subserve  the  great  end  of  my| 
spiritual  advancement.  I 
And  Oh  may  this  day  be  improved  and  honJ 
ored  by  multitudes  of  my  brethren  of  mankind  1 
and  contribute  to  render  them  more  wise,  mor^ 
virtuous,  and  more  happy  !  Let  thy  Spirit, 
great  God  !  Animate  and  strengthen  thy  faith- 
ful servants  vA\o  shall  this  day  preach  tli}'  gos- 
pel ;  and  may  thy  word  have  free  cour:i>e  and 
edify  !  I^flay  error,  and  ignorance,  and  preju- 
dice,  yield  to  the  light  of  knowledge,  the  con- 
victions of  truth,  and  the  prcgress  of  Christian- 
ity ;  and  thy  name  be  known  iii  all  the  earth, 
and  thy  kingdom  come,  and  the  whole  v/orld 
b«  filled  with  thv  Riorv  !    Amen  ! 


ll.-^FOR  THE  EVENING. 


The  day  consecrated  to  religious  rest, 
and  to  the  solemn  adoration  of  the  Supreme 
Being,  is  closed  !  May  a  day  like  this  be  use- 
fully distinguished  above  all  other  days  ! — Is 
there  a  more  noble,  a  more  sublime,  a  more 
transporting  employment  than  the  worship  of 
God  ?  Is  there  one  which  supposes  higher  fac- 
ulties, or  opens  more  pleasing  prospects  ?  Is 
there  one  which  exalts  us  more  above  the 
brutes,  and  brings  us  nearer  to  heavenly  in- 
telligencies  ? 

When  my  soul,  O  my  God,  is  employed  on 
thee,  it  is  engaged  with  all  that  is  most  beau- 
tiful, most  adorable,  most  amiable  in  the  uni- 
verse ;  with  all  that  can  comfort,  tranquillize, 
and  rejoice  it;  with  all  that  can  be  desired  on 
earth  or  hoped  in  heaven  for  blessedness  or 
perfection. — When  I  unite  with  my  brethren 
in  rendering  the  tribute  of  adoration  and  praise 
due  to  Thee,  I  discharge  the  sublimestduty  of 
which  a  human  creature  is  capable. 

Now  let  me  inquire  of  myself,  whether  I 
have  this  day  experienced  how  honorable  is 
this  privilege,  how  delightful  is  this  duty  ! 
Have  I  performed  it  v.  illingly,  or  with  reluc- 
tance ?  Was  it  with  pleasure  or  uneasiness  that 
I  joined  my  fellowcreatures  in  presenting  to 
our  common  Parent  and  generous  Savior  the 
sacrifice  of  praise  and  the  oblation  of  devotion  ? 
Did  my  heart  and  spirit  truly  take  a  part  in 


190 


Exercises  of  Piety, 


this  homage  ?  Was  my  adoration  rational,  mj 
gratitude  sincere  ?  Did  no  folly  mingle  v.  ith  it, 
no  harbored  corruption  render  it  impure  ?  Have 
I  realized  that  the  Supreme  Being  could  derive 
no  benefit  from  my  religious  exercises,  that  I 
eould  not  acquire  by  them  any  right  to  his  fli- 
vors,  and  that  all  their  utility  is  lelative  to  their 
caect  ?  And  have  my  devotions  this  day  inspir- 
ed me  Vv  ith  new  gratitude,  humility,  submission 
andobedience?  Havel  realized  more  fully  my  own 
helplessness,  my  entire  dependence  upon  divine 
Providence,  my  obligations  for  past  favors,  and 
my  need  of  present  and  future  mercies.- — Have 
1  been  suitably  alTected  with  the  greatness  of 
my  privileges  and  the  sublimity  of  my  hopes 
as  a  Christian  ? — What  are  the  important  re- 
flections that  have  engaged  me  this  day  ?  1  o 
w  hat  good  dispositions  have  1  been  conscious  ? 
"What  serious  resolutions  have  I  form.ed  r  What 
truth  hath  particularly  struck  and  affected  me  ? 
What  duty  hath  appeared  peculiarly  necessary 
for  my  efforts  to  fulfil  ?  To  what  fault  have  I 
felt  a  1  i able n ess,  to  what  vice  a  temptation  ?  Or 
w^hat  doctrines  of  eternal  wisdom,  what  motives 
to  holiness  and  virtue,  have  made  the  deepes^ 
impression  on  my  mind  and  heart  ?  Have  1 
gained  new  strength,  new  encouragement  Xm 
discharge  my  duty  with  exactness,  and  new  inJ 
citements  towards  christian  perfection  ?  Am  IJ 
by  this  sacred  relaxation  and  these  spirituafl 
pleasures,  brought  into  a  condition  for  resum- 
ing tomorrow  my  employments  and  labors  with 
renovated  vigor  ?  In  a  word,  Have  the  solem- 


L 


Evening,  191 

nities  of  the  day  served  to  unite  me  more  close- 
ly to  my  God  and  Savior,  and  to  bring  me 
nearer  the  glorious  ends  for  which  I  am  des- 
tined  ? 

If  they  have  produced  these  good  effects,  I 
owe  it,  Heavenly  Father,  to  the  influence  of  thy 
blessed  Spirit ;  and  I  would  express  my  devout 
and  lively  gratitude  for  thy  grace.  O  may  the 
seeds  of  truth  and  virtue  w'hich  thou  hast  caus- 
ed to  fall  into  my  heart  this  day,  take  deep  root, 
and  yield  abundant  produce  !  May  this  indeed 
be  a  day  of  blessings  to  me  !  May  I  find  it  to 
have  advanced  me  in  preparedness  for  the  abode 
of  the  just,  the  assembly  of  the  saints,  and  the 
glorious  reit  v/hlch  remaineth  for  the  children 
of  God  ;  there  I  shall  know  Thee  better,  adore 
Thee  more  worthily,  and  in  communion  with 
Thee-  find  and  -enjoy  supreme  and  eternal  fe- 
licity.   Amen  ! 


Zollikojer  on  the  Dignity  of  Man 


JUST  PUBLISHED, 

By  ISAIAH  THOMAS,  Jun. 

And  for  Sale  by  him  in  Worcester,  and  by  Thomas  8c 
Whipple,  Newburyport  ;  by  Thomas  8c  Tappan, 
Portsmouth,  in  Two  Volumes,  Octavo,  price  Four 
Dollars  and  Fifty  Cents,  handsomely  bound-, 

OERMONS  on  the  DIGNITY  OF  MAN, 

^  and  the  Value  of  the  obiects  principally  relating  to 
HUMAN  liAPPINi:SS.~EA'om  the  German  of  the 
late  Rev,  George  Joachim  Zollikofer,  Minister  of 
the  Reformed  Congregation  at  Leipdck. 

By  the  Reverend 
WILLIAM  TOOKE,  F.  R.  S. 

70  THE  PUBLIC. 

THE  Sermons  here  presented  to  the  Public,  are  tK 
most  popular  v/ork  of  a  Divine,  who  was  preeminently 
distinguished  in  Germany.  They  are  upon  the  most 
important  subjects,  and  are  celebrated  throughout  Eu- 
rope. The  English  Reviews,  in  unqualified  language, 
speak  of  the  excellence  of  the  original,  and  recommend 
the  English  translation  as  correct  and  elegant.  For  the 
delineation  of  the  Digkity  of  Man,  and  in  the  estimate 
of  Human  Happiness,  people  of  every  country  have  an 
interest.  The  Sermons  are  written  in  a  popular  style,  and 
are  i.ddressed  to  the  understandings  and  hearts  of  per- 
sons of  every  description.  From  their  perusal,  every 
discerning  arid  serious  mind  may  derive  entertainment, 
instruction  and  moral  im-provement. 


V 


